December 18th 2009:
Moments ago, President Obama reached an agreement with world leaders at the
climate conference in Copenhagen to limit global warming to no more
than 2 degrees Celsius and to require countries to list their national
actions and commitments to achieving emission reduction goals.
EDF President Fred Krupp issued the following statement in response:
"Today's agreement leaves the U.S. in control of its own destiny. We
have always known that the path to a clean energy economy goes through
Washington, D.C. As President Obama said today, strong action on
climate change is in America's national interest.
"It's the Senate's turn to speak next. Whether we move ahead with a
common-sense plan to create new manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and
reduce dependence on foreign oil is not up to other countries; it's up
to us. A year from now we can be further ahead or further behind, and
the Senate will make the difference.
"Today's agreement takes the first important steps toward true
transparency and accountability in an international climate agreement.
The sooner the U.S. speaks through Senate legislation, the sooner we
can set the terms of engagement for talks to come."
If it wasn't already clear, it is now: The 21st century will be a
clean energy century.
The question before us is what role will America play in
developing the technologies and clean energy solutions in the coming
decades?
It's up to us to urge our Senators to follow the leadership of
President Obama and seize this opportunity to cap our carbon
emissions, create millions of jobs and unleash our clean energy
future.
You can do two things right now to help:
1. Go to our Operation: Climate Vote hub page to find various ways to take action:
http://support.edf.org/site/R?i=lxHvrfVwb6FJu92ajgf98Q..
2. Make a Year-End donation to help give us the resources we'll need to continue the fight in Washington and get us over the goal line:
http://support.edf.org/site/R?i=bjwF5uzrik_kspz-EAXbfA..
Thanks for your activism and support,
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20009
1-800-684-3322
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It's so refreshing to have a president who is proactive, and takes responsibility for the way his nation affects the environment. I was, however, a little confused when the agreement that was reached at Copenhagen aimed at a global average increase in temperature of "no more than 2 degrees Celsius."
ReplyDeleteGlobal climate change is such a complex phenomena. I don't pretend to understand it. However, I do know that more than temperature is involved. In fact, temperature is supposed to fluctuate. How much is normal, I have no idea. Partially because of this natural fluctuation in temperature, I was expecting carbon emissions to be the target of the conference. From my understanding, excess emission of carbon dioxide is a huge factor in global climate change. But it cannot be the only one. Other factors surely influence the weather. My fear is that because the problem of carbon emission hasn't been targeted directly, the 2 degree maximum increase in temperature will become a technicality that can be achieved in other ways. For example, if a certain year happens to be cooler for whatever reason but we continue to expel outrageous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, then that agreement in Copenhagen failed to be effective. In other words, I think that a better decision could have been implemented, but I'm happy that it's a start!
I do think that the requirement for nations to keep track of their effects on the environment is a great way to increase awareness.
-Nina Zagvazdina