Posted on June, 27 2009

Washington, USA: Successful passage of US domestic climate legislation through the House of Representatives could be a further signal that the deadlock in international climate negotiations might be coming to an end.

“It is great that the US domestic climate legislation is now moving one step closer,” said Kim Carstensen, Director of the WWF Global Climate Initiative.

“We would have liked to see stronger commitments in the legislation, but still it is an important starting point for the US to engage fully in international climate regulation.”

The US vote capped an encouraging week on climate change with Scotland legislating for emissions cuts of 42 per cent by 2020 and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown becoming the first to commit to the right magnitude of funding for the developing world, if not quite yet the necessary amount.

WWF-US officials commended the House of Representatives for taking a first step towards a clean energy economy, creating jobs and exports, and protecting the nation’s quality of life and said the bill is a critical starting point, at a crucial time given the increasing urgency of the climate change problem.

The bill – also known as the Waxman-Markey bill - now goes to the US Senate.

“This bill is not everything we need, but it is a critical starting point, at a crucial time,” said WWF-US President and CEO Carter Roberts. “We are seeing the impacts of climate change right in our own backyards and they are coming faster and hitting harder than anticipated.”

From heat waves in the South, to flooding rains in the Midwest, to drought in the West, every region of this country is feeling the dangerous and costly consequences of climate change. We have to get started, and this bill would represent an unprecedented leap forward.”

“The choice before us is two-fold: rise to this challenge by slowing emissions and preparing for climate change impacts, or allow the disruption of our climate to escalate in dangerous and costly ways. There are no do-overs in this game. If we bankrupt nature, there will be no bailout.”

The American Clean Energy and Security Act would place a national limit on greenhouse gas pollution that declines over time, while setting up a market-based framework to bring down emissions in an economically efficient manner. It would also launch an effort to begin preparing communities across the U.S. to cope with the impacts that are unavoidable given the changes we are already experiencing.

Dr. Richard H. Moss, vice president of the WWF-US climate change program, emphasized the crucial importance of passing a strong climate bill this year in order to demonstrate U.S. leadership on the issue prior to international negotiations that will take place this December in Copenhagen.

“Climate change is a global problem requiring a global solution,” said Moss. “American families will not be protected from the impacts of climate change without reducing emissions around the world. If we want other countries to put more on the table in Copenhagen, we need to show that the U.S. is finally ready to act. Enacting strong climate legislation is the most effective thing America could do to negotiate the strongest commitments from other countries.”

Moss noted that the bill includes provisions that are essential to reaching an agreement in Copenhagen. For example, the bill would make critical investments in stopping tropical deforestation, the source of roughly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions; would promote technology cooperation between the U.S. and developing countries to help lower emissions world-wide; and would help the world’s most vulnerable people and communities respond to existing and future impacts from climate change.