www.carbon-financeonline.com/
19 November, 2008
US President-elect Barack Obama has reaffirmed his election pledge to take serious action on climate change, saying that the country will re-engage with international negotiations, promote clean energy development and implement a cap-and-trade programme for greenhouse gas emissions.
In a video address to the Global Climate Summit, an event arranged by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ahead of next month's UN climate conference in Poznan, Poland, Obama said: "Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high. The consequences are too serious." While he will not personally attend the UN conference, Obama said he had asked observers to report back to him.
"Once I take office, you can be sure that the US will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations and help lead the world towards a new era of global co-operation on climate change," he said. Obama's pledges included implementing a federal cap-and-trade system, with strong annual targets that set the US on a course to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
"My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process," he said. He promised $15 billion of support each year for the private sector to develop clean energy - including solar, wind, next-generation biofuels, nuclear and clean coal - which he estimated would create 5 million 'green' jobs. "When I am President, any governor who is willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that's willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington," he said.
In a press briefing on Monday, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said he expected the US delegation to Poznan to "participate fully and give us an indication of where things might go in future". De Boer outlined three main outcomes he hopes to see from the conference: the first version of the negotiating text that will lead to a new climate change agreement; for ministers to give a vision of future co-operative action; and the formal launch of the climate change adaptation fund.
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