CARBON-BALANCE

This post marks the initial entry in a new series of postings on the climate policy discourse in the English Caribbean. These are the unedited main points; remarks made by Ambassador K. G. A. Hill at the 2009 Fourth Conference on the Environment by Jamaican Institute of Environmental Professionals. Climate change policies are but extensions of those already being formulated and implemented for sustainable development. Governments in the Caribbean ought not to lose sight of this as they organise their institutional arrangements and in deploying resources. The social, environmental, and economic policies have not resulted in the “growth” and socio-economic transformation necessary to increase public welfare. There is no “cushion” of surplus capital in the challenging period of a warming earth. Even as the Caribbean governments and their citizens prepare at the national and regional levels, the negotiating process picks up speed at the international. In the Caribbean the debate sh...

India has laid down the marker: Reuters is reporting : India will not sign up to targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but will instead focus on fighting poverty and boosting economic growth, the environment minister said on Tuesday. India is one of the world’s biggest emitters alongside China, the US and Russia, and the second most populous nation. But India’s per capita emissions lag far behind rich countries and it feels the developed world should take the lead on tackling climate change. “India cannot and will not take emission reduction targets because poverty eradication and social and economic development are first and over-riding priorities,” a statement on behalf of environment minister Jairam Ramesh said. A legally binding emission reduction target endangers India’s energy conservation, food security and transport, he said. India has laid out its stance ahead of the negotiation of a climate treaty in Copenhagen in December that will replace the expiring Kyoto pact. D...

Just do It: As THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN puts it ... for all its flaws, this bill is the first comprehensive attempt by America to mitigate climate change by putting a price on carbon emissions. Rejecting this bill would have been read in the world as America voting against the reality and urgency of climate change and would have undermined clean energy initiatives everywhere. More important, my gut tells me that if the U.S. government puts a price on carbon, even a weak one, it will usher in a new mind-set among consumers, investors, farmers, innovators and entrepreneurs that in time will make a big difference... The AP's H. JOSEF HEBERT makes a strong case that : Such a law would impact how much people pay to heat, cool and light their homes (it would cost more); what automobiles they buy and drive (smaller, fuel efficient and hybrid electric); and where they will work (more "green" jobs, meaning more environmentally friendly ones).

Coming from the Right:

Here is a quick view from the republican leaning WSJ, essentially parroting the conservative concern over comprehensive environmental policy.

What a difference a year makes. The most positive sign in decades of a change in environmental policy in the US. Clear example of the dramatic effect of democratic politics on policy and a clear victory for President Obama. Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit Green For All, which was a driving force in securing green job training funds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, called the bill a significant step forward in creating a more equitable and secure country. The bill includes a $860 million allocation to the Green Jobs Act. “This legislation will not only position America at the forefront of the clean-energy economy but will also create jobs and opportunities for communities that are too often at the margins - and the smokestack end - of our current economy,” Green For All CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins said in a statement . The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a sweeping climate change bill today that will significantly change the way Americans use and produce energy...