Climate Change Takes Center Stage at UN Summit

Nearly 100 world leaders met at the United Nations in New York this week for a summit on climate change in advance of the international climate change gathering to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December. Because the prospects for reaching an agreement in Copenhagen that would replace the Kyoto Protocol appear increasingly dim, the New York summit was seen as a chance to create momentum to move negotiations forward.

There were some hopeful signs. Japan’s new premier announced that his country would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, which will challenge other developed countries to set ambitious targets as well. And China’s president announced a plan for his country to set mandatory targets to reduce carbon emissions by a “notable margin” by 2020 from the 2005 level, though he avoided specifics.

As for the United States, President Obama made clear that climate change is a priority for his administration. He said, “As we head towards Copenhagen, there should be no illusions that the hardest part of our journey is in front of us. We seek sweeping but necessary change in the midst of a global recession, where every nation’s most immediate priority is reviving their economy and putting their people back to work. And so all of us will face doubts and difficulties in our own capitals as we try to reach a lasting solution to the climate challenge. But difficulty is no excuse for complacency. Unease is no excuse for inaction.”

Now the question is: will these speeches and announcements translate into a meaningful and binding international treaty that prevents the most devastating impacts of climate change? To make sure they do, the president of the Maldives, an archipelago of islands that will be ravaged by the sea levels rises that are expected if global warming continues unchecked, encouraged people to take action to make sure their governments do what’s right. Before speaking at the UN this week, he wrote the following in The Huffington Post:

“The climate is near a tipping point — when the Arctic suddenly melts and the glaciers disappear, that’s a very bad sign. We need our political system to cross a tipping point, too, to move from feel-good statements to actual solutions, cutting emissions quickly enough to meet the demands of science. But politicians are reluctant to act unless the people act first. The events in New York and on October 24th [an international day of climate action] provide ordinary people with the opportunity to make their voices heard and, in doing so, remind politicians who is ultimately in charge.”

G20 Meeting Touches on Green Economy Issues and Spotlights the Green City of Pittsburgh

On the heels of the UN Summit, world leaders again gathered this week for the Group of 20 (G20) Summit. The G20 includes 20 industrialized and developing countries and was created to be a forum for discussing key issues in the global economy.

The Obama administration announced in advance of the G20 meeting that it would push for an agreement among G20 members to phase out government subsidies of fossil-fuel industries. The U.S. and other major polluting nations like Russia, Brazil, China and India all give billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies to fossil-fuel industries like oil and coal. The outcome of Obama’s effort remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the G20 summit is being held in Pittsburgh to highlight the city’s transformation from a polluted and declining industrial metropolis into a clean and booming green one. As Apollo board member Frances Beineke of the Natural Resources Defense Council wrote in The Huffington Post, “By hosting the G20 Summit in a former steel town that has transformed itself into a booming center of green technology, the Obama administration is underscoring the power of clean energy solutions to both launch us out of the financial crisis and confront the climate crisis at the same time.” Click here to read the full article.

PG&E Takes a Stand Against U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Climate Extremism

Northern California utility company PG&E announced on Sept. 22 that it would withdraw from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of the Chamber’s extreme position on climate change. PG&E, whose Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Nancy McFadden, sits on the board of the Apollo Alliance, is a leader among U.S. corporations that are pushing the federal government to adopt a comprehensive clean energy and climate change policy.

In a blog post titled “Irreconcilable Differences,” PG&E publicly announced that its Chairman and CEO Peter Darbee had sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce criticizing it for its extreme position on climate change. “In our opinion, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another,” wrote Darbee.

Darbee was referring to the Chamber’s late August challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency to hold a public hearing on the scientific evidence for human-induced climate change along the lines of the 1925 “Scopes monkey trial” that pitted evolutionary theory against creationism.

Click here to read about other companies that are dropping their memberships in lobby groups or trade associations that have taken extreme positions opposing federal efforts to combat climate change.

In other news …

*National Association of Manufacturers Endorses the IMPACT Act. As we were about to send out this email, we learned that the National Association of Manufacturers had endorsed U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown’s clean energy manufacturing bill, the IMPACT Act. The Apollo Alliance has been working for months to build business support for the IMPACT Act, and NAM’s endorsement will bring in the weight of thousands of businesses behind the legislation. Click here to read the press release from Senator Brown’s office.

*Oct. 6th and 7th business lobby day on clean energy. The Apollo Alliance has joined with Ceres, the Clean Economy Network and others to provide businesses with an opportunity to advocate for a Senate clean energy and climate change bill. This is a pivotal moment for U.S. energy and climate policy, and Senators need to hear from businesses who believe these policies will create a thriving clean energy economy. For more information, contact Andrea Buffa at 415-371-1700 x209 or buffa@apolloalliance.org, or go to www.wecanlead.org.

*Join us at the Apollo Alliance Right Stuff Awards Dinner! Food, drink and inspiration will all be in abundance at the Apollo Alliance’s Right Stuff Awards Dinner at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 6. The event will honor four awardees whose work exemplifies the Apollo mission of creating the new clean energy economy, and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio will deliver the evening’s keynote speech.

We hope to see you there! Click here for more information about buying tickets or becoming an event sponsor, or contact Jessica Partch at (415) 371-1700, ext. 206 or partch@apolloalliance.org.