carbon cap
-
A New Obsession
“This obsession with a legally binding treaty [to tackle climate change] is an obstacle for countries achieving targets they have committed to,” declared Paul Bledsoe, a climate change advisor to President Clinton. “What we need is national will to reach stated goals.” Given that the only international agreement so far, the Kyoto Protocol, expires in […]
-
'Environmentalism' can never address climate change
There's been a lot of talk lately about what went wrong on the climate bill, but it's always struck me that the original wrong turn was the introduction of climate change to American politics as an "environmental issue." It is the mother of all framing errors -- the one from which all others flow.
-
We're hot as hell and we're not going to take it any more
For years, the fight for a climate bill has been led by moderate green groups. Clearly, their strategy doesn't work. Time to get mad, and then busy.
-
Lessons from Senate climate fail
Here are some lessons learned from the perspective of someone who spent the last few years trying to push a real bill through the real Congress.
-
What are the prospects for comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation in the coming years?
The chances for either an economy-wide shrinking cap on greenhouse gas emissions or a major push on clean energy investment over the next several years are not large. The best one could plausibly hope for in the next Congress, assuming only modest Republican gains, is some sort of weak cap on utility emissions, though that would still require Obama to do what he refused to do under more favorable political circumstances -- push hard for a bill.
-
Senate energy package: Wait, it gets worse!
The Democrats are planning to put forward a very tiny, weak energy package. Here's what we know is going to be in the package.
-
California anti-climate ballot measure could have global consequences
Image: Climate Progress This post first appeared at the Center for American Progress. This November, California voters are in danger of undoing one of the most progressive pieces of environmental legislation ever passed. Texas oil companies have taken advantage of California’s quirky initiative system to place Proposition 23 on the ballot. This proposition has one […]
-
The climate bill endgame
Cross-posted from the NRDC Switchboard blog. To cap or not to cap? That is the question … The most important component of an effective climate bill — one that helps the economy recover and assures that greenhouse gas emissions will decline rapidly over the decades to come — is setting a cap on emissions. Opponents […]
-
Can we get on the road to major emission reductions by starting with a cap on stationary sources?
President Obama hosted a bipartisan group of Senators at the White House on Tuesday to talk about the path forward on comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. He made a strong case for passing a bill that “makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy” by holding polluters responsible for their emissions. As expected, there […]