December 2009 Archives

What have world leaders accomplished at the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen?

The U.S. and China, along with India and South Africa, forged a climate deal in the 11th hour of the summit on Friday, according to media reports. Details of that accord are still developing, but many are already saying it's falling short of expectations. In other notable developments: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged that the U.S. would contribute to a global fund of $100 billion to help poor nations' climate change efforts, and negotiators were close to a deal that would curb greenhouse gas emissions through forest preservation.

How do these achievements compare to expectations? Have negotiators done enough to advance international efforts to control emissions? Will Copenhagen affect U.S. efforts to pass domestic climate change legislation?

15 responses: Mark Muro, Bob Bendick, Henry Derwent, Ned Helme, Nancy Young, Kyle Danish, Steven Stoft, David Hone, Thomas J. Pyle, Paul Sullivan, Jonathan Wootliff, Bill Snape, Rob Stavins, Graciela Chichilnisky, William O'Keefe

How can President Obama balance the divergent climate change demands of world leaders and Congress?

Friday at the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen, Obama is expected to pledge to reduce the U.S.' greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and to commit the U.S. to paying "a fair share" of a $10 billion annual fund to help developing nations respond to climate change.

But world leaders are calling on America to step up its commitment to combating global warming. Meanwhile, conservatives and some moderates in Congress complain that Obama's plan is too far-reaching and costly and could hurt the U.S. economy. Can the White House satisfy both Congress and the world? What issues should Obama concentrate on in Copenhagen? Could U.S. action on specific provisions -- such as emission levels, financing or clean energy development -- help pave the way for a compromise?

9 responses: David Parker, Paul Sullivan, Thomas J. Pyle, Scott Moore, Michael C. Formica, Tom Kuhn, Rob Stavins, Bill Snape, William O'Keefe

Updated at 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 7.

Should leaders of the world halt efforts to control greenhouse gases until they've investigated recent charges that some scientific studies linking human activity to climate change may have been overstated?

In November, hackers released thousands of e-mails and other documents from a British university that allegedly call into question some of the scientific underpinnings of climate change. Opponents of global warming legislation claim that the e-mails prove that scientists manipulated the data. They want Congress and the EPA to suspend efforts to control U.S. greenhouse gas emissions until the charges are thoroughly scrutinized. However, Jane Lubchenco, a marine scientist who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Congress that the hacked documents "do nothing to undermine the very strong scientific consensus" backing climate change.

The purloined data was released as leaders of the world prepared to meet in Copenhagen to negotiate an international treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Is there enough evidence that the science was exaggerated to stop efforts to control greenhouse gases? Or is it an anomaly being used by opponents to slow the momentum for meaningful change?

EPA Formally Declares Greenhouse Gases A Danger

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its ruling that greenhouse-gas emissions endanger public health and welfare. The decision gives the Obama administration the legal basis to regulate carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Environmentalists and Democrats praised the decision, but critics say the agency should have postponed action until questions were settled about the scientific underpinnings of climate change.

Will the EPA's announcement help President Obama's hammer out a treaty to cut world emissions of greenhouse gases at the ongoing conference in Copenhagen? Will it boost Democratic efforts to pass climate change legislation in the Senate next year?

17 responses: David Parker, Larry Schweiger, Eileen Claussen, Gene Karpinski, William O'Keefe, Bill Snape, Carl Pope, Andrew Wheeler, Paul Sullivan, Robert J. Shapiro, Jon A. Anda, Robert C. Sisson, William O'Keefe, Arjun Makhijani, Terry Chapin, Bill Snape, Kevin Knobloch