John McCain

McCain promotes eco-cred, while his advisers push for more Bush-style policies

In honor of John McCain’s eco-week, both the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee have launched sites where folks can make personal pledges to protect the planet. The McCain campaign has also put out a line of “eco-friendly” swag — shirts, hats, tote bags, etc. Meanwhile, McCain adviser Kevin Hassett, who is also the […]

More on the nuclear portion of McCain’s big climate speech

What’s the deal with John McCain’s nuclear love affair? It’s a question on many people’s minds after the candidate’s big climate speech yesterday. While McCain has argued repeatedly that he’s opposed to subsidies for the nuclear industry, he stresses the need to support the nuclear industry and fund nuclear R&D. The most recent incarnation of […]

A Q&A on John McCain’s climate platform, issued by his campaign

The following is a Q&A on John McCain’s climate platform, released on Monday by the McCain campaign. I’m posting it here because it gets into more detail than any other published material I’ve seen. —– Q&A: John McCain’s Climate Platform How does cap-and-trade work? • Cap-and-trade is a mechanism that would set a limit on […]

What would the use of carbon offsets mean for McCain’s climate policy?

To me the most striking element of McCain’s just-released carbon cap-and-trade plan is that it would, at least at the outset, allow regulated entities to achieve 100 percent of their emission reductions through the purchase of domestic or international offsets. By way of comparison, the Lieberman-Warner climate bill headed for the floor of the Senate […]

McCain waters down language on climate dealings with China & India

The original text of John McCain’s Monday climate speech raised the specter of economic penalties for developing countries if they don’t join international climate efforts, but the candidate dropped that reference when actually delivering the address. As the Associated Press puts it: The GOP presidential contender … prodded China and India — two major emitters […]

Anti-wind McCain delivers climate remarks at foreign wind company

Conservative presidential candidate Sen. John McCain chose a clever but ultimately hypocritical location for his big climate speech. I hope the media aren't fooled by his ironic choice of wind turbine company Vestas as the backdrop, but I have little doubt they will run enticing photos and videos of wind turbines. McCain, however, does not deserve to be linked to such images.

I would title the speech "Not the man for the job" (see "No climate for old men").

Let's be clear: Conservatives like John McCain, or more accurately, conservatives including John McCain, are the main reason McCain has to go to a Danish wind turbine manufacturer to give a climate speech. With the major government investments in wind in the 1970s, the United States was poised to be a dominant player in what was clearly going to be one of the biggest job-creating industries of the next hundred years. But conservatives repeatedly gutted the wind budget, then opposed efforts by progressives to increase it, and repeatedly blocked efforts to extend the wind power tax credit. The sad result can be seen here:

Enviros respond to McCain’s new climate plan

John McCain unveiled his plans to address global warming in a speech Monday afternoon in Portland, Ore. The candidate called climate change a “test of foresight, of political courage, and of the unselfish concern that one generation owes to the next,” and called for a cap-and-trade system to drastically reduce the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions. John […]

Emission reduction targets proposed by McCain are insufficient but squarely in the mainstream

Here is the schedule of targets John McCain has proposed for his cap-and-trade program: 2012: Return emissions to 2005 levels (18 percent above 1990 levels) 2020: Return emissions to 1990 levels (15 percent below 2005 levels) 2030: 22 percent below 1990 levels (34 percent below 2005 levels) 2050: 60 percent below 1990 levels (66 percent […]

New McCain climate ad aimed at independent voters

John McCain released a new television advertisement today to accompany his big climate policy speech in Portland, Ore., this afternoon. Here’s the ad: The ad illustrates McCain’s attempts to appeal to independents; climate change is a key area where he believes he can make inroads with voters outside the Republican party. Note these lines in […]