John Kerry: With Success in Copenhagen, Congress Will Follow

For all those disappointed that Congress was unable to pass energy legislation before the Copenhagen climate talks, which are now in their second week, Senator John Kerry reassured an audience at Copenhagen on Wednesday that success in Copenhagen would deliver success for the energy bill in Congress. While we would have liked the domino effect to have been the other way around, Kerry said that “though we have yet to reach full agreement on a method, more and more businesses and lawmakers are convinced that the only way to meet an emissions reduction target is to price carbon.”

Kerry’s comments in Copenhagen follow his efforts, in conjunction with Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, this month to gain support for U.S. energy legislation. In the framework legislation that the trio introduced last week, the Senators point to the recent EPA ruling that greenhouse gas emissions are a health hazard as underscoring “the importance of Congressional action to address greenhouse gas emissions before the EPA moves unilaterally.”

In that framework the Senators say that they believe a near term greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 17 percent below 2005 levels, and a longer term target of 80 percent below 2005 levels, is “achievable and reasonable.” That might be the most aggressive that congress will accept, but in relation to some of the emissions targets that other developed nations have put on the table, the goal falls short. The European Union is pledging to decrease emissions between 20-30 percent (30 percent is conditional on an international agreement) below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80-95 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Japan is pledging to decrease emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and to 60-80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.

Kerry and other U.S. leaders have arrived in Copenhagen this week as the negotiations have moved into the final days for leaders to reach a consensus. Obama administration officials including Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson have been making speeches and looking for good will in Copenhagen since last week, and President Obama is supposed to arrive on Friday.

Former Vice President Al Gore also made an appearance at Copenhagen this week and said that he thinks the U.S. Senate can pass energy legislation before Earth Day in April and that the world can deliver a legally binding treaty in July (via ThinkProgress). Of course, whether world leaders actually meet that benchmark will depend on how close to an international agreement the delegates can deliver over the next couple of days. While Kerry and Gore’s words represent the best outcome for U.S. energy legislation, there are many events, naysayers and hurdles ahead to reach that goal.

Some of my favorite quotes from Kerry’s speech:

I’ve often said that global climate change is an issue where no one has the luxury of being “half-pregnant.” You either are or you aren’t. And so it is with climate change. You either understand and accept the science – or you don’t.

And:

If Dick Cheney can argue that even a 1% chance of a terrorist attack is 100% justification for preemptive action—then surely, when scientists tell us that climate change is nearly a 100% certainty, we ought to be able to stand together, all of us, and join in an all out effort to combat a mortal threat to the life of this planet.

For those of you that have been following my coverage from Copenhagen, I am covering the final days of the negotiations from back in San Francisco. And looking at pictures of the massive protests, arrests, and snowy weather outside of the Bella Center, boy am I glad to be back.

Image courtesy of Ralph Alswang Flickr Creative Commons.

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