Capitol Hotline (Sept. 8)
Van Jones resigns, EPA tailoring proposal, Senator Cantwell on Obama China visit, Duke Energy quits ACCCE, Japan sets emissions target, UN says $600 billion needed for adaptation
In this issue
- Hot Topic of the Week
o Van Jones Resigns
- USCAN’s New Web Pages
o Climate Action Week
o Energy Rebellion
- Advocacy
- Inside the Beltway
o EPA Proposal Could Shield Small Emission Sources
o Senator Cantwell: US-China Climate Pact Likely During Obama Visit
- Outside the Beltway
o Duke Energy Quits Coal Front Group ACCCE
o Japan Sets Ambitious Emissions Target, Contingent on International Deal
o UN: Developing Countries Need $600 Billion to Fight Climate Change
- Other Headlines
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Hot Topic of the Week
Van Jones Resigns
White House environmental advisor Van Jones resigned this weekend after he was embroiled in a controversy over statements made prior to his appointment. The Green Jobs czar offered two public apologies last week, but they did little to quell leading Republicans’ call for Jones to step down. Since late July, Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck repeatedly denounced the advisor after a group that Jones co-founded, ColorofChange.org, led an advertising boycott of Beck’s show to protest his claim that President Obama is a racist. Read more at New York Times
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USCAN's New Web Pages
USCAN just redesigned its home page to be more graphic, easier to navigate, and capture the vigor and passion of climate activism. See the new page here: http://www.usclimatenetwork.org/ . These are the first steps to strengthen our Web site and refine our online presence to keep pace with all of the new design and dissemination tools. USCAN's mission is to elevate our collective goal of cooling the planet and heating up the economy to the top global priority.
Here are new pages that demonstrate our commitment to disseminating useful information, beautifully presented:
- Climate Action Week, Sept 20-25 - NYC and Pittsburgh are two critical stops on the road to Copenhagen. The page offers an interactive calendar of the key policy events, links and documents.
- Energy Rebellion - Across the country, the American energy titans are on the defensive. Citizens are pushing hard and winning to halt new coal plants, regulate strip mines, curtail mountaintop mining, enact new energy efficient ordinances to combat climate change, finance public transit, and spur public and private investment in clean energy factories and practices. USCAN documents the action on the front lines of the climate and energy war in its new Energy Rebellion page. If you have stories that need to be told let Keith Schneider know at kschneider@climatenetwork.org.
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Advocacy
There are less than 100 days to go to the negotiations this December when representatives of 192 nations will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations climate negotiation’s Conference of the Parties. The outcome of these talks will determine the future of our planet. The time is now to raise awareness of the importance of this historic meeting-- and spell out the kind of treaty the nations of the world need to create—and USCAN is asking you and your organization to join the TckTckTck campaign in uniting the voices of millions across the globe. Our ultimate goal: a fair, ambitious and binding international agreement and strong Senate action that reflects the latest science on climate change.
Climate Week is September 20-26, 2009 and may go down in history as the single most important week on US soil for efforts to cool the planet and heat up the economy. During this week, the special high-level meeting on climate called by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is occurring on September 22 in New York and the G. 20 meeting which focuses on a global green economic recovery is happening in Pittsburgh September 24-25. The events during this week provide the most high-profile opportunity we have to demonstrate strong public support for action on climate before the Senate votes.
For more information on joining the tck tck tck campaign and/or participating in climate week and other key events this fall, contact jkurz@climatenetwork.org or see the emails sent around earlier today.
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Inside the Beltway
EPA Proposal Could Shield Small Emission Sources
Early last week, the EPA sent a draft rule to the White House that would shield small emission sources from regulation by the agency. The draft only regulates entities that emit 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, a threshold 100 times higher than what is currently set in the Clean Air Act. Some analyst suspect it will only be a matter of time before a court concludes all sources must be included. Read more at The Boston Globe
Senator Cantwell: US-China Climate Pact Likely During Obama Visit
The U.S. and China are likely to forge a climate deal during Obama’s trip to Beijing this November, according to Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) who visited China to discuss clean energy and intellectual property issues. Climate change and the global economy will be top agenda items during Obama’s November visit. "I'd place higher odds on the ability of the United States and China to reach an agreement than I would on us passing legislation or on having Copenhagen agreed," Cantwell told reporters in a briefing. She also said there was a “50-50 chance” that the American Clean Energy and Security Act would pass by the end of the year. Read more at Reuters
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Outside the Beltway
Duke Energy Quits Coal Front Group ACCCE
Duke Energy, the nation’s third-largest electric utility, announced their departure from the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy (ACCCE), a pro-coal lobbying group that was linked to the Bonner and Associates forged letter scandal. Duke Energy, also a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership whose proposal made up much of the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed in the House in June, said they left ACCCE because some members would never support any type of climate legislation. Alcoa, FirstEnergy and two other companies have also left ACCCE in recent months. Read more in National Journal
Japan Sets Ambitious Emissions Target, Contingent on International Deal
Japan’s incoming administration has vowed to pursue a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, up from the widely criticized 8 percent goal the outgoing administration had set. However, the Democratic Party of Japan’s plan is “based on the premise that there will be an international agreement including China and India,” said Secretary-General Katsuya Okada. “This is not something that Japan will do on its own.” Read more at The Australian
UN: Developing Countries Need $600 Billion to Fight Climate Change
In order for developing countries to grow using renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels, they will need $500-$600 billion annually, a scale at which has not been seen outside wartime recovery, according to a World Economy and Social Survey by the United Nations. Twenty-seven times more than current funding levels, the amount is much higher than other recent estimates such as UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s ($100 billion annually) and the African Union’s ($67 billion annually). Read more at AFP
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Other Headlines
