Obama’s Plan for Climate Change

In answer to requests from federal policymakers, the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) has devised what they dub the “Blueprint for Legislative Action” on climate change. The report, which will likely influence legislation and is in line with Obama’s stated goals, addresses a wide range of climate change issues, from regulation of coal plants to a federal cap-and-trade system.

At the heart of the Blueprint is an attempt to meet President Obama’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. In fact, much of the report focuses on a proposed cap-and-trade system and how to properly use such a system to meet those very goals. Other issues addressed include stricter regulation and oversight of the coal industry and the immediate impact of improving energy efficiency, a topic that Obama has been outspoken about as he promotes his economic stimulus package.

But the Blueprint’s effectiveness is debatable. All agree that the plan is a huge step forward, relative to anything proposed in the past. Although how long it will be before any version of this plan actually sees the Congressional desktops is pure speculation as the economy takes a towering front seat over even climate change at the moment.

According to ClimatePULSE (via TriplePundit), the plan gets decent marks. There is criticism relating to some details of the cap-and-trade system, although much of the problem seems to revolve around feasibility. For instance, with the economy on the congressional hot seat, it would be extremely difficult to address and resolve the many intricacies involved in an effectively run cap-and-trade model.

Furthermore, some climate change experts are skeptical about the plan’s ability to actually facilitate an 80% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050. The goal, everyone seems to agree with. The plan, however, is another matter, especially when considering the way such plans inevitably get watered down by political filters in Congress.

USCAP’s Blueprint for Legislative Action does insist on a larger and leading role for the United States on climate change. This would be a much anticipated and applauded change in standpoint, for while many U.S. leaders have long talked big about the environment and climate change, the U.S. remains well behind many other developed countries on the issue.

We will have to wait and see what becomes of this and any other climate change plan while Congress attempts to sort out our current economic crisis (multi-tasking is apparently not a well known skill in the District). USCAP’s plan does emphasize the direct relation between economy and environment; perhaps a reason that energy efficiency has been such a big talking point for Obama.

Links:

Overview of USCAP plan
Presidential Agenda for Energy and Environment

Posted on February 19th in Solar Politics by Dan.