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June 26, 2013
The temperature was 92 degrees as President Obama removed his jacket in front of a Georgetown University audience before embarking on his historic climate change speech on June 25. Referring to climate change skeptics as the “flat earth society,” Obama stated that due to abnormally high temperatures, and more frequent droughts, wildfires and extreme storms over the past two decades, the United States can no longer wait to take nationwide action to combat the causes and effects of climate change. With that, the President released his Climate Action Plan to reduce CO2 emissions and prepare the nation for climate change.
Crucial to Obama’s strategy to take executive action on this issue is the 2007 Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gases are subject to the Clean Air Act , and, therefore, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to regulate them. A prime target for such regulations are the country's existing coal- and gas-fired power plants, which account for about 40 percent of U.S. carbon pollution. Obama stated that he is directing the EPA to promulgate draft CO2 emissions standards for existing power plants by 2014 in a way that provides flexibility to states.
In addition to setting CO2 emission standards, Obama’s plan will release $8 billion in loan guarantees for advanced fossil fuel and efficiency projects, and strengthen the Better Building Challenge to increase building efficiency 20 percent by 2020. The plan also directs the Department of the Interior (DOI) to permit enough renewable energy projects on public lands to power six million homes by 2020. Additionally, it calls for 20 percent of all energy for federal buildings to be from renewable sources, and for federally assisted housing to deploy 100 megawatts of new renewable energy, both by 2020.
Likening the process of stabilizing climate change to “tapping the brakes of a car before you come to a complete stop and then can shift into reverse,” Obama acknowledged that as the United States reduces emissions, global warming will still continue for years. As a result, the President said, he sent a budget to Congress that includes funding to prepare for extreme droughts and floods, reduce the risk of wildfires and strengthen sea barriers in coastal states.
Obama did not hesitate to discuss the political facets of climate policy. He spent substantial time pointing out that Republicans have historically taken the lead on climate change: the EPA was established under President Nixon, and George H.W. Bush was the first president to declare that human activities drive climate change. Obama noted that reducing pollution was a relatively nonpartisan issue some years ago, when John McCain led a bipartisan group of Senators to try to implement a nationwide cap and trade system for CO2 emissions.
Obama chided opponents of emission reduction policies for lacking faith in the resiliency and ingenuity of American business, telling the audience, “These critics seem to think that when we ask our businesses to innovate and reduce pollution and lead, they can’t or they won’t do it. [. . .] But in America, we know that’s not true.” He cited the elimination of smog, acid rain and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), as well as stricter fuel standards in the auto industry, as past examples of American environmental initiatives that have sparked innovation and prompted industries to thrive rather than suffer. He also pointed out steps that are being taken by private sector giants such as Walmart, General Motors and Nike to address climate change. “Would [Walmart] really do that if it weren’t good for business?” Obama asked the audience.
The President mentioned the contentious Keystone pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to refineries in the Gulf. He said that approving the proposal “requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation’s interest. And our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.” He also voiced his support for natural gas, calling it a “transition fuel” and a “medium term” solution to reduce CO2 emissions that should be expanded if drilling can occur safely.
Finally, Obama addressed climate agreements on the international stage, recalling his agreement earlier this month with President Xi Jinping of China to phase down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) use under the Montreal Protocol. Obama also stated that unless there is no other option to generate electricity, the United States would no longer finance new coal plants overseas that do not deploy carbon capture technology, and called on other countries to join the pledge. Furthermore, he has directed his administration to begin negotiations toward global free trade in environmental goods and services for a low-carbon economy. Without providing explicit details, Obama also pledged to help negotiate an ambitious international climate agreement by 2015.
Obama conjured memories of President Kennedy declaring that America would put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s when he told the audience that although addressing climate change will be a difficult challenge, it will ultimately bolster the American economy and solidify the legacy of this generation. “While we may not live to see the full realization of our ambition,” Obama said, “We will have the satisfaction of knowing that the world we leave to our children will be better off for what we did.”
Author: Ben Wolkon
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