Green Inc., the environmental blog run by the New York Times, ran an article yesterday covering the recent letter sent to Obama regarding climate legislation within the United States. The authors of the letter are Senate Democrats considered swing votes on the topic of climate change and energy policy, and they came with several demands.

The letter specified 10 requirements to be met before they will give their support, and comes at the perfect time for such an action. President Obama will be attending Copenhagen next week where he will hopefully show that the US is supportive of a binding international treaty. Kyoto was a missed opportunity which led to an agreement that is now about to run out, and without significant results. 

Many of the swing voting Democrats are from areas dependent on coal for power generation, which explains their unease in relation to any regulation. Their demands are as follows:

If the United States and other developed nations are held to strict emissions limits, than developing countries need to be held equally responsible. Within this framework there needs to be 'tough verification and enforcement mechanisms' in place. Any nation that does not comply with these rules must be punished through trade penalties. Any technology that is transferred to emerging nations must have copyright protections for intellectual property. And any bill or treaty must in the end protect domestic jobs and push for low-cost environmental solutions.

None of these issues are necessarily new or unfamiliar. It also comes as no surprise that those representatives from manufacturing states or those that produce coal share the same demands. I hope that they are addressed or compromised because any new legislation covering climate issues will need all the votes it can get. With the recent East Anglia incident who knows what the repercussions will be.

The White House did respond to the letter with a brief statement outlining foreign and domestic action the President has taken. Domestically, the letter highlights the Recovery Act and its goal of transitioning the country into a clean energy economy. Also it mentions the ongoing effort by the administration to work with senators on passing a bill reducing our foreign oil dependence. Internationally, the President has worked with China and India to enact stringent mitigation measures and create climate action plans.

What do you think will happen in Copenhagen? Will the swing voting Democrats be satisfied enough to vote for new climate legislation?

Link to the original article: 

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/in-letter-to-obama-senators-state-conditions-for-supporting-climate-bill/#more-34125