Climate of Our Future

Climate Crisis Coalition 

By Peter Baker, The Washington Post, December 29, 2007. “For years, Bush bristled privately at what he considered sky-is-falling alarmism by the liberal, elitist Hollywood crowd. The clatter over climate change, according to friends and advisers, seemed to him more like a political agenda than a rational response to known facts. But ever so gradually, they say, Bush’s views have evolved. He has found the science increasingly persuasive and believes more needs to be done, especially after a set of secret briefings last winter… Now Bush bristles not at the Hollywood types but at the notion that he does not care… [But] Bush still rejects the one measure that they, and even many Republican corporate leaders, consider vital to reversing warming trends — a mandatory cap on carbon emissions. His negotiators infuriated counterparts at this month’s talks in Bali by resisting such a move. And just hours after Bush signed the energy bill, the administration invalidated an effort by California and 17 other states to impose tougher tailpipe emission rules, saying it makes more sense to have a single national policy… As this month’s U.N. meeting in Bali was approaching, a fierce debate broke out over who would lead the U.S. delegation. The White House wanted [James] Connaughton, Bush’s environmental adviser, to co-head it, but the State Department took umbrage at what it deemed a breach of protocol… The White House [finally] agreed that Undersecretary of State Paula J. Dobriansky would lead the delegation while Connaughton would ‘join in leading’ some sessions. The spat over place cards underscored a broader tension over what to do next. Connaughton wanted to go to Bali and emphasize the U.S.-led process as the route to a post-Kyoto agreement, in effect snubbing the United Nations… Dobriansky wanted to use Bali to signal willingness to go beyond voluntary measures. ‘It just got shot down vociferously,’ an associate said shortly afterward. ‘She’s very frustrated, very angry’… With just a year left for Bush, the issue is heading down parallel domestic and international tracks. Bush will reconvene officials from major polluting nations in Hawaii next month, and the Senate is to take up a global warming bill in the spring. Some lawmakers said they have picked up hints from Bush aides that he might sign a bipartisan cap-and-trade bill with a reasonable timetable and economic safeguards.”