United States No Longer AWOL on Climate Change

After eight years of delay and obstruction under the Bush administration, Clinton said, "President Obama and I and our Administration are making climate change a central focus of our foreign policy."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the major economics forum on energy and climate. (Photo courtesy U.S. State Department)

Clinton said the forum is not intended to divert attention from working towards solutions, but to assist us in creating those solutions.

"The science is conclusive," Clinton said. "The evidence and impact is getting more dramatic every year. Facts on the ground are outstripping worst-case scenario models that were developed only a few years ago. Ice sheets are shrinking. Sea levels are rising. Oceans are becoming more acidic, threatening coral and other life forms. So the imperative is clear," she said. "We are called to act, and future generations will judge us as to whether we do or not."

The meeting on April 27-28 is taking place at the level of leaders' representatives. The meeting will support a leaders meeting of the Major Economies Forum in La Maddalena, Italy, in July 2009 after the meeting of the G8 leaders.

President Barack Obama announced the launch of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate on March 28. The forum is intended to facilitate a candid dialogue among major developed and developing economies, help generate the political leadership necessary to achieve a successful outcome at the December UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, and advance the exploration of concrete initiatives and joint ventures that increase the supply of clean energy while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The 17 governments participating in the Major Economies Forum are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The United Nations, and Denmark, in its capacity as the President of the December 2009 Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, are also participating in the forum.

President Obama has proposed a broad, market-based cap on carbon pollution that would include a mandatory national target through the year 2050, when emissions would be cut by 80 percent, Clinton explained to the the delegates.

"A market-based cap will encourage game-changing private investments in clean energy and improvements in efficiency, streamlining our regulatory process, stimulating new jobs and growth, and setting us on the road to a low-carbon economy," Clinton said.

She said the Obama administration, with its economic stimulus package will make significant, direct investments in clean energy technology and energy efficiency.

"And our EPA is paving the way for more stringent auto emission standards," she said, noting the determination of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on April 17 that carbon dioxide endangers public health.

"Now, we are well aware that some see the economic crisis as an excuse to delay action," Clinton said. "We see it in an exactly opposite way, as an opportunity to move toward a low carbon future."

"The Australian Government strongly supports this U.S. initiative to help bring us closer to the global agreement we all need," said Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water Senator Penny Wong, who is attending the forum.

"The world needs U.S. leadership on this issue - and the Obama Administration has already injected a great deal of confidence in the process through its unambiguous commitment to tackle climate change," said Wong.

Kevin Curtis, deputy director of the nonprofit Pew Environment Group, said the meeting is an investment of political capital for President Obama.

"By bringing together the world's major economies, President Obama is investing significant political capital in addressing global warming with his counterparts in other nations," he said. "He must also continue working with Congress so that he can go to Copenhagen with a U.S. commitment."

"The nations participating in today's meeting account for more than 80 percent of the world's global warming pollution. By working with countries like China and India towards common goals, President Obama is sending a clear signal to Congress that his administration is committed to addressing global warming and that he is asking other countries to join him," said Curtis.

Clinton told the forum, "The United States is fully engaged and ready to lead and determined to make up for lost time both at home and abroad."

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