Financial Meltdown Won't Slow U.S. Action on Climate Meltdown, Says Obama

by Emily Gertz

Published November 18, 2008 @ 01:36PM PST

President-elect Obama may not be attending next month's U.N. climate treaty talks in Poznan, Poland. And he appears to be staying clear of the battle between Reps. Waxman and Dingell for control of a House committee that's key to future lawmaking on energy and global warming.

But Mr. Obama has taken the opportunity of this week's governor's summit on climate in Los Angeles to affirm that after he takes office, there will be no delay in acting to stop global warming.

Appearing via a videotaped message, the President-elect brought what was no doubt a welcome message to the the bipartisan gathering of governors -- many of whom have battled the Bush administration on creating stricter pollution standards to control greenhouse gasses -- joined by representatives from at least 10 other nations. "The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We’ve seen record drought, spreading famine, and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season."

Mr. Obama stressed that the global financial crisis would not derail strong cap-and-trade carbon control policies after he takes office. In fact, he perceives the intertwined solutions to slowing economies, climate crisis, and national security. "We will establish strong annual targets that set us on a course to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them by an additional 80 percent by 2050," he said, reiterating promises he made on the campaign trail. "My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process."

For the international delegates at the conference, Mr. Obama had a direct message. "While I won't be president at the time of your meeting and while the United States has only one president at a time, I've asked members of Congress who are attending the conference as observers to report back to me on what they learn there," he said." "Once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change."

Sources: Reuters, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal Blogs, Agency France-Presse

Image: Barack Obama on campaign trail. Via barackobama.com