"Obama’s Backing Raises Hopes for Climate Pact"

Elisabeth Rosenthal has an article in today's New York Times indicating that the Obama administration is seriously supporting the negotiation towards a new global climate pact, and in doing so is re-energizing other nations and the negotiations themselves.

The perception that the United States is now serious has set off a flurry of diplomacy around the globe. “The lesson of Kyoto is that if the U.S. isn’t taking it seriously there is no reason for anyone else to,” said Bill McKibben, who runs the environmental organization www.350.org.

This week the United Nation’s top climate official, Yvo de Boer, will make the rounds in Washington to discuss climate issues. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, is organizing a high-level meeting on climate and energy. Teams from Britain and Denmark have visited the White House to discuss climate issues. In China, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made climate a central focus of her visit and proposed a partnership between the United States and China. And a special envoy from China is coming soon.

Comment: I am really glad to see that the administration is not ignoring the long term problems as it seeks to deal with the immediate financial crisis. Of course, the administration is investing in low-emission energy technology as part of the stimulus package, which will also benefit the economy in the long run, especially if there is a climate pact with real teeth that actually moves people into better energy technologies. JAD