NO TREATY IN COPENHAGEN THIS YEAR
Our Best Hope Rests with the EPA- B
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Leading climate scientists say we must take immediate and substantive
action in reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases if we are to avoid
risking catastrophic consequences from global climate change. Last
week President Obama conceded that the climate talks in Copenhagen,
scheduled in early December, will not produce a treaty on climate. At
best, a fully articulated treaty will not be possible until the next UN
meeting in Bonn, Germany in June of 2010, or at the global summit in
Mexico City, scheduled for December of 2010.
Meanwhile, several
versions of a U.S. Senate climate bill are slowly making their way
through their respective committees. Even the most ambitious do not
approach the emission cuts called for by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change and will undoubtedly be further weakened as they go
through the political negotiation process. It also is unclear whether
the process of passing a Senate bill, reconciling it with the House
version and reaching final approval can occur in what many believe is a
rapidly narrowing window between now and the beginning of next
year's election cycle. Right now, our best hope for prompt and
measurable emission reductions rests with the US EPA.
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