Kerry on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group 2 Report

[ProSense]

Release of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group 2 Report

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC

March 30, 2014

Read this report and you can't deny the reality: Unless we act dramatically and quickly, science tells us our climate and our way of life are literally in jeopardy. Denial of the science is malpractice.

There are those who say we can’t afford to act. But waiting is truly unaffordable. The costs of inaction are catastrophic.

We can already see the damage it’s causing to our ecosystems, wildlife, glaciers, and countless other natural habitats. We can feel the impact of rising temperatures and sea level rise on vulnerable coastal areas. We know the security risks of water scarcity and flooding; widespread land and marine species extinction; and devastated crop yields in some of the poorest nations on earth.

No single country causes climate change, and no one country can stop it. But we need to match the urgency of our response with the scale of the science.　

The United States is meeting this challenge through President Obama’s Climate Action Plan and we’re committed to reaching an ambitious agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions with other countries in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The clock is ticking. The more we delay, the greater the threat. Let's make our political system wake up and let's make the world respond.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/03/224161.htm

Three weeks ago:

Jake Schmidt’s Blog

Secretary Kerry Makes Climate Change Top Priority in New Policy Directive: Some key actions to deliver on that policy

Secretary Kerry has just issued his first “Policy Directive” as U.S. Secretary of State. This new directive outlines that climate change is a central issue for the State Department and directs an “all hands on deck” approach to this issue. He rightly recognized that this will require strong action in the U.S., while helping spur global action. This is welcome sign that should ensure that all components of the U.S. diplomatic service are mobilized to help drive climate change action. His leadership will be critical on several key pending actions that can help deliver upon these new guidelines.

Working with the entire U.S. Administration Secretary Kerry can help deliver on these guidelines with a couple of key actions.

1. Reject KXL and other tar sands pipelines that will expand greenhouse gas emissions. The guidelines outline that the U.S. should: “Lead by example through strong action at home and abroad.” Keystone XL would cause an expansion of tar sands production and the associated greenhouse gas emissions (as my colleague pointed out). And tar sands expansion is helping Canada blow past its international commitment to address climate change. In its formal submission to the U.N. Canada acknowledged that it will fail to meet its commitment to cut its emissions 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. And tar sands expansion is the single biggest emissions growth in Canada so enabling these emissions would fail both the “act and home and abroad test” in the directive. Secretary Kerry should listen to the 2 million people urging him to reject Keystone XL.

2. Support strong domestic action to deliver on the U.S. Climate Action Plan to meet the target outlined in Copenhagen. Strong implementation of the Climate Action Plan will put the US on track to meet its commitment to cut emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020. Chief among these are the domestic actions that the US takes on power plant carbon pollution, reducing the “super-greenhouse gas” called HFCs, and methane leaks from oil and gas. Aggressive implementation of the Climate Action Plan would be a clear sign that call for “strong action at home” in the directive is on solid ground.

<...>

4. Secure a global agreement in December 2015 and push for an “all hands on deck” approach to climate action. In December 2015 countries are set to agree on the next round of legal commitments to address climate change. We don’t have the luxury of “kicking the can down the road” so all countries must come prepared to make bold and decisive commitments to curb their own carbon pollution and mobilize investments in developing countries. The State Department directive recognizes this moment when it states: “negotiate a new, ambitious international climate agreement applicable to all countries by 2015 to take effect in 2020”. Secretary Kerry and his team will play a critical role in ensuring that the U.S. is prepared to act aggressively in this agreement. Countries have begun to outline some of their visions for this agreement (see Reuters on US proposals, Reuters on Chinese proposals, RTCC on EU’s proposals, and here for all of the submissions).

At the same time, Secretary Kerry clearly recognizes that we need an “all hands on deck” approach (his recent speech referred to it as a “you name it approach”) where countries are using all of the tools and available avenues to address climate change. This principle is already evident in the U.S. effort to support phasing down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, supporting reducing black carbon reductions from dirty diesel and other sources, eliminating public funding of coal projects, and pushing for major companies to commit to eliminate deforestation from their supply-chain. Secretary Kerry can continue to lead this push, while also ensuring that the entire State Department operation is supporting climate action (not supporting more investments in climate destructive activities).

- more -

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jschmidt/secretary_kerry_makes_climate.html

[polichick]

1. Are you suggesting that the pipeline will be rejected?

[ProSense]

2. ? n/t

[polichick]

3. Wouldn't bet on it.

[ProSense]

7. Wouldn't "bet" on anything

Posting the statement and some other actions or proposals that may have gone unnoticed.

[polichick]

8. Honestly, given the U.N. climate report, we should be able to bet on it.

[ProSense]

11. "Honestly"

"Honestly, given the U.N. climate report, we should be able to bet on it."

...the pipeline should be rejected, but if anyone thinks that will solve the impending climate castastrophe discussed in the report, they're kidding themselves.

[Junkdrawer]

4. Doubtful, but the verbiage defending the construction of the ppeline....

will now meet a higher standard.

I guess that's something.

[ProSense]

5. Obama’s Plan to Curb Methane Emissions is a Big Step in Climate Fight

Obama’s Plan to Curb Methane Emissions is a Big Step in Climate Fight

NRDC: Strategy also will cut other toxic pollutants tied to oil, gas development

WASHINGTON (March 28, 2014) – The White House’s Interagency Methane Strategy to curb the emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas, released today, is a big step in the right direction, the Natural Resources Defense Council said.

The following is a statement by David Doniger, director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at NRDC:

“Methane is a potent heat-trapping pollutant, and we've long understood the urgency and importance of controlling it as a way to slow dangerous climate change. Curbing methane emissions is a key element in President Obama's Climate Action Plan and today's announcement is a big step in the right direction. Curbing methane also will help reduce other toxic pollutants associated with oil and gas development and other industries. But more needs to be done, and we look forward to working with the Obama Administration to establish effective methane leakage standards."

http://www.nrdc.org/media/2014/140328.asp

White House gets geeky on climate problem

By John Upton

To see how the world is changing around you, sometimes it helps to lose yourself online.

The White House is plunging into a new geeky approach to climate adaptation. It has consolidated online climate tools into a new hub, climate.data.gov, intended to help Americans understand how weather and sea levels will continue to change in their states and even their neighborhoods.

OK, so it’s not the most awesome online thing to happen since Google mastered search. But The New York Times explains some of the laudable ambition behind the effort:

In theory, … climate.data.gov … would be a powerful tool, allowing local governments or home and business owners to type in an address — as they do on sites like Google Earth — to quickly see how the projected rise in sea levels might increase the chance that their house will be flooded in the coming years. But in practice, until climate science and mapping applications can live up to the site’s ambitions, it will remain very much in its testing phase.

At the beginning, the website will serve chiefly as a clearinghouse for climate science data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Geological Survey, the Defense Department and NASA, according to (White House advisers John) Holdren and (John) Podesta. The first batch of data will focus on coastal flooding and the rise in sea levels.

Average users will not be able to do much yet on their own. Instead, NASA and the NOAA will call on researchers and private companies to create software simulations illustrating the impact of sea level rise.

<...>

UPDATE: Google, Microsoft, and Intel have all committed to help develop the climate.data.gov project. Microsoft will donate close to one terabyte of cloud storage space, as well as sponsor a competition for climate scientists to win a year of free access to cloud computing resources. Google, not to be outdone, will provide one petabyte (for those not caught up on their Greek: that’s one thousand terabytes) of cloud storage for climate change research data, and will help create a map of the Earth’s terrain in high resolution to illustrate the effects of climate change on the landscape. And Intel has planned hackathons that will bring together students in Chesapeake Bay, New Orleans, and San Jose to build apps to measure and track climate change using government data.

http://grist.org/news/white-house-gets-geeky-on-climate-problem/

[ChisolmTrailDem]

6. "Unless we act dramatically and quickly" ... ain't gonna happen. Next. nt

[ProSense]

9. Why hasn't the Boxer-Sanders climate bill gotten more attention?

"'Unless we act dramatically and quickly' ... ain't gonna happen. Next."

Next: keep complaining.

Sanders, Boxer Propose Climate Change Bills

Thursday, February 14, 2013

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 – Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) today introduced comprehensive legislation on climate change.

Boxer is chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Sanders sits on the environment committee and also is a member of the Senate energy committee.

Under the legislation, a fee on carbon pollution emissions would fund historic investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy technologies such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. The proposal also would provide rebates to consumers to offset any efforts by oil, coal or gas companies to raise prices.

“The leading scientists in the world who study climate change now tell us that their projections in the past were wrong; that, in fact, the crisis facing our planet is much more serious than they had previously believed,” Sanders told a news conference in the Senate environment committee hearing room. To read his full statement, click here.

The proposal was drafted as two measures, the Climate Protection Act and the Sustainable Energy Act. For a summary, click here.

Flanking Sanders and Boxer at the news conference were environmental and consumer leaders including Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org; Mike Brune, executive director of Sierra Club; Tara McGuiness, executive director of the Center for American Progress Action Fund; Tyson Slocum, Public Citizen’s energy director; and Meg Power of the National Community Action Foundation.

“Sens. Sanders and Boxer actually understand the depth of the climate problem we face. We are awfully grateful to them for starting us down the legislative path that could reverse our disastrous course. We hope and trust that they won't have to be a lone voice,” said McKibben, one day after his arrest at a White House protest on a controversial oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

“Climate disruption is one of the most pressing challenges of our time and we must move forward with solutions on all fronts. While all eyes are on President Obama’s pending actions to cut carbon emissions from power plants, halt risky drilling in America's arctic, and reject the dirty and dangerous Keystone XL pipeline, we need champions in the Senate like Bernie Sanders and Barbara Boxer pushing strong, comprehensive climate solutions that can double down on these critical administrative actions,” added Brune.

“Pricing carbon is an important tool to address climate change, and this legislation ensures that working families aren’t penalized by dedicating 3/5 of revenues to a per-capita family refund. This will protect families at the same time we seek to protect the climate,” said Slocum, Public Citizen’s energy program director.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-boxer-propose-climate-change-bills

The comprehensive bill:

Climate Protection Act
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113s332is/pdf/BILLS-113s332is.pdf

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/021413-2pager.pdf

Via Daily Kos:

<...>

The legislation comes in two bills. The Sustainable Energy Act—designed to cut a long list of subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry and extend tax credits for production of renewable energy from solar, wind and geothermal sources. The renewable credits now expire in 2014. The Sanders-Boxer proposal would extend them through 2021. That would give investors more confidence and help long-range planning that is now hampered by the fact the credits expire every two or three years.

...a condensation of all the measures in the Climate Protection Act.

• Price Carbon. To help reduce current carbon 80 percent by 2050, impose a carbon fee of $20 per ton or carbon or methane equivalent, rising at 5.6 percent a year for 10 years. This would apply to the 2,869 largest polluters (oil refineries, coal mines, point of importation) covering about 85 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions

• Family Clean Energy Rebate Program. With 60 percent of the carbon fee revenue, the program would use the Alaskan model of an oil dividend to provide a monthly rebate to every U.S. resident. "This is the most progressive way to ensure that if fossil fuel companies jack up prices, consumers and families can offset cost increase on fuel and electricity, according to data from the Congressional Research Service."

• Protect Communities from Fracking. So that the carbon fee does not harm communities due to increased production of natural gas, end the exemption for fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act

• Ensure Fair Trade and International Cooperation

• Pay Down $300 billion of the national debt from carbon fee revenue over 10 years.

• Invest in Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy. With some of the revenue raised from the carbon fee, invest in efficiency and energy technologies that will "reduce emissions, create jobs, and position America as a clean-tech leader." Included in this:

° weatherizing one million residences a year, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and saving households hundreds of dollars annually;

° tripling the budget of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy in research and development;

° creating the "Sustainable Technologies Finance Program" that would, working through public-private partnerships, leverage $500 billion for investments in wind, solar, geothermal, advanced biomass and biofuels, ocean and tidal energy, hydroipower, advanced transportation projects, and energy efficiency technologies

° funding $1 billion annually in training and transition programs to move American workers into clean-energy jobs

While the legislation will, as noted, no doubt encounter serious opposition in the House and Senate, it is precisely the kind of approach that is needed. Waiting to introduce it at a time when it has a better chance of passing makes no sense. Delay is just another form of denial. Americans need to know what progressives will back when they do have the political clout to deliver. Just explaining what we would do can help gain the votes to give us that clout.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/14/1187163/-Sanders-Boxer-climate-protection-bill-includes-carbon-fee-for-nearly-3-000-top-fossil-fuel-polluters

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022374998

[polichick]

10. Are you suggesting that this will make it through Congress?

It would be an awesome thing for Bernie to run on!

[ProSense]

13. Why are you asking if posting information is a "suggestion" that an action will occur? n/t

[polichick]

14. Just kiddin' with you - of course it won't make it through this Congress.

[ProSense]

18. It could if Democrats take back the House.

Of course, there would be some negotiating in both chambers.

Remember a Climate Change bill did pass the House in 2009.

July 2009: Disillusioned Environmentalists Turn on Obama as Compromiser

<...>

In a statement, Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California and an architect of the bill, defended the legislation. “We worked hard to craft legislation that would achieve our environmental goals while addressing the regional concerns of members of Congress,” he said. Politicians are not the only targets of dejected environmentalists.

<...>

That's six months into the Presidency.

July 2009: House passes landmark climate change bill

September 2009: Boxer, Kerry Set to Introduce Climate Bill in Senate

October 2009: Kerry-Boxer clean energy bill: Chairman’s mark and EPA analysis released

November 2009: Boxer Statement on Committee Passage of S. 1733 – The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act

Unfortunately, by the time the bill got to the full Senate, it was attacked from all sides. Close = no bill.

No bill equals progressives won?

There is a difference between fighting for change and standing in the way of it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x725008

[ChisolmTrailDem]

12. Before I read all that, does it say anywhere in there how this proposed legisaltion will be

implemented in China and the rest of the polluting world?

It says right in your OP, re: Kerry, that we can't do it alone. Well, your blockquotes and links ain't gonna convince the world to act "dramatically and quickly".

----> Ain't. Gonna. Happen.

[ProSense]

16. You don't need to "read" it

Before I read all that, does it say anywhere in there how this proposed legisaltion will be

implemented in China and the rest of the polluting world?

It says right in your OP, re: Kerry, that we can't do it alone. Well, your blockquotes and links ain't gonna convince the world to act "dramatically and quickly".

----> Ain't. Gonna. Happen.

It's clear from your comments you've decided that it "Ain't. Gonna. Happen."

The purpose of the post is informational, not to "convince the world to act 'dramatically and quickly'."

Kerry, the IPCC and other groups are working on that.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

17. Ok, I don't mind reading it, thank you, but the world is not going to give up what it has to

give up in order to reverse climate change "dramatically and quickly", which was my point to begin with. Ain't gonna happen dramatically nor will it be quickly.

[ProSense]

19. That's the appropriate language needed to express the urgency and light a fire. n/t

[AverageJoe90]

15. Our President doesn't get all the credit he deserves.......K&R.

[Cha]

20. I see this went over big! Something positive about Kerry and Climate Change.