Obama Makes Climate and Energy Commitments at Clinton Global Initiative
Both of the presidential hopefuls addressed the morning plenary at the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York on Thursday morning, but only Senator Barack Obama couched his remarks in terms of the CGI theme: making commitments. The effort did not go unnoticed by the event’s host, former President Bill Clinton, who applauded Obama’s gesture. Said Clinton, “That was a great speech - wasn’t it great?”
Speaking via satellite because he had a prior engagement preventing his attendance, Senator Obama received some of the loudest and most sustained applause of the week, thus far. And as compared to the reception given to his Republican opponent, John McCain, who opened the morning session, the difference was striking.
Obama made three specific commitments. One of Senator Obama’s commitments, quoted directly below, dealt directly with energy and climate. While the climate/energy commitment from made by Obama
“No single issue sits at the crossroads of as many currents as energy. Our dependence on oil and gas funds terror and tyranny; it has forced families to pay their wages at the pump; and it puts the future of our planet in peril. This is a security threat, an economic albatross, and a moral challenge of our time. The time to debate whether climate change is manmade has past – it’s time, finally, for America to lead.
“The first commitment that I’ll make today is setting a goal of an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“To do our part, we’ll implement a cap-and-trade program so that there’s a price for pollution, and resources to transform our energy economy. I’ve proposed an investment of $150 billion in alternative energy over ten years, which will create millions of jobs and break the cycle of our addiction to oil. We need to do more than drill. Now is the time to develop every form of alternative energy – solar, wind, and biofuels, as well as technologies that can make coal clean and nuclear power safe. We need to raise fuel economy standards, put more plug-in hybrid cars on the road, and find new ways to be energy efficient.
“Abroad, the United States must get off the sidelines. We’ll reach out to the leaders of the biggest carbon emitting nations and ask them to join a new Global Energy Forum to lay the foundation for the next generation of climate protocols. We’ll build an alliance of oil-importing nations, and work together to reduce our demand, and break the grip of OPEC. And as we develop clean energy, we should share technology and innovations with the nations of the world.
“This effort to confront climate change will be part of our strategy to alleviate poverty. Because we know that it is the world’s poor who will feel – and who may already be feeling – the affect of a warming planet. If we fail to act, famine could displace hundreds of millions, fueling competition and conflict over basic resources like food and water.”
