Kerry in Poznan for climate change talks

[ProSense]

Democrats will enjoy bigger majorities in Congress next year, which will make it easier for Obama to push through a domestic carbon cap, and he has indicated that he will be briefed on the Poznan outcome by the congressional delegation, which includes Democratic Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.).

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who heads a select House committee on climate change, said he is confident the new president will be able to sign a bill by 2010, if not earlier.

"The math has changed dramatically since the last time people calculated the chances of success" in Congress, Markey said.

Klobuchar said in an interview that she and Kerry will tell foreign leaders that "something can and will happen out of this Congress with this new president" and that key congressional players on climate change are prepared to engage in horse trading to get a bill passed.

"The administration's enormous commitment to put resources into technology, that's going to be key to get people on board," she said, noting that wind energy has spurred economic development in her state.

Even as industrialized countries seek to ease the transition to a low-carbon society by investing in green technology, developing countries at the Poznan talks will demand aid to make the switch themselves. China, India and Brazil -- which are not bound to specific climate targets under the Kyoto Protocol -- say they will commit to binding actions only when richer countries identify their future emissions cuts and what money they will give developing nations to acquire new energy technology and adapt to global warming.

Yvo de Boer, executive secretary for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which hosts the talks, said in an interview that when it comes to putting together "the financial and institutional infrastructure" to put developing nations on a greener path, "we're still a ways from making that happen. At the moment people are just telling developing countries what to do without outlining what will help make that happen."

link

Climate envoys battle over forests, emissions

By ARTHUR MAX and VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writers Arthur Max And Vanessa Gera, Associated Press Writers – 14 mins ago

POZNAN, Poland – Negotiators at a U.N. climate conference worked Monday to resolve differences over a deal to protect the world's forests and pressed industrial countries to drastically reduce their carbon emissions.

The top U.N. climate official, Yvo de Boer, said the talks were going well, despite "problematic" issues, but nongovernment groups described the negotiations as "slow" and said they had even moved backward on several points.

Nearly 190 countries are working on a global warming treaty to regulate pollution by greenhouse gases and to help poor countries handle the effects of climate change, from rising sea levels to more severe storms, droughts and floods.

The agreement, to be concluded next December in Copenhagen, Denmark, would replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012 and requires industrial countries to slash emissions mainly from heavy industries and vehicles.

On Monday, a deal on rewarding tropical countries for preserving their forests was stuck in a committee, as delegates debated the technicalities of measuring deforestation and the degradation, or thinning, of forests. Until that is resolved, the convention could not discuss how to finance conservation.

more

Background:

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

"Kerry Tackles Global Climate Challenges" (Audio)

John Kerry: The Road Ahead

[karynnj]

1. It will be interesting to follow what he does on SFRC with this

[ProSense]

2. Yup.

The good news is that everyone realizes that action (on everything) is now urgent.

[beachmom]

3. It is so vital that Obama have an important ally in the Senate on this issue.

After all, no treaty will go into effect until the Senate ratifies it.

[ProSense]

4. Congress and Obama team signal that they will be ready for Copenhagen

Copenhagen deal? That ain't nothin'!

Congress and Obama team signal that they will be ready for Copenhagen

This is a guest post from Poznan by Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

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In a letter from U.S. groups making the rounds here in Poznan, delegates are being urged to make the decisions needed in Poznan to keep us on schedule for making a final deal in Copenhagen next year, as promised in the historic consensus reached last December in Bali.

While the December 2009 meeting in Copenhagen marks the deadline that nations -- including the United States -- have given themselves to reach agreement on a post-2012 climate treaty, a few observers have raised concerns that the United States might not be ready to cut a deal by then. But as the letter notes: where there's a will, there's a way. And there's certainly the will.

Congressional leaders and the Obama transition team are already consulting closely on a massive economic stimulus package, to be enacted soon after President-elect Obama takes the oath of office. A major component of the package will be investments to repower America with clean energy. According to a New York Times article, a senior Obama aide said the package will include at least $15 billion dollars a year -- and perhaps considerably more -- for expanding mass transit, making American homes more energy efficient, and jumpstarting clean energy projects. The measure would reduce U.S. global warming emissions while also improving U.S. energy security and creating several million new green jobs.

The economic stimulus package is the first order of business. Broader energy and climate legislation comes next. President-elect Obama has said he'll begin immediately working with congressional leaders to craft a strong climate bill. A recent Zogby poll found a strong majority of voters want Congress and the president to prioritize action on climate change.

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), the incoming chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has signaled that the new Congress will work closely with the Obama administration to make rapid progress on global warming, both at home and abroad. He will bring this message to Poznan later this week, where he'll tell the world that the Congress joins President-elect Obama in committing to re-engage with the international community to reach agreement in Copenhagen.

With support from the public and Congress, President-elect Obama stands on the edge of a new age of American leadership on the global stage, and he appears ready for the challenge. And that's a game changer.