The Political Climate: an ongoing commentary on the NH Primary and Climate Change

Rex Tillerson, chief executive of Exxon Mobil, made his first public comments since the release of the IPCC report two weeks ago.  Tillerson warned governments not to rush into policies that “could damage the global economy in order to limit carbon emissions.”  Could there be an, umm, ulterior motive here?  Tillerson did say that “the risks to society and ecosystems from climate change could prove to be significant, so despite the uncertainties, it is prudent to develop and implement sensible strategies that address these risks.”  But, he also said “my understanding is there’s not a clear 100 percent conclusion drawn.  Nobody can conclusively 100 percent know how this is going to play out.  I think that’s important.”  That is true, and sticking to that philosophy Tillerson should light up a cigarette because no one can say with 100 percent certainty that smoking causes cancer.  (Read the entire story from the New York Times here.)

Most likely Tillerson won’t be invited to the next G-8 meeting in Northern Germany this June.  British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that they would push industrialized nations to take strong action to combat global warming.  The June 6-8 G-8 meeting will focus on creating a plan that will look beyond the 2012 Kyoto Protocol goals.  Hopefully unlike Tillerson, the United States will be an active participant.  (Read the entire story here.)

Yesterday Tom Vilsack pledged to make his campaign “carbon neutral,” but according to this piece apparently he’s taking it one step further annoucing a plan that would “slash carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2050.”  As prresident, Vilsack would “establish a mandatory national ‘cap and trade’ system to meet those levels, push for a 25-cent-per-gallon federal tax credit for the production of ethanol made from cellular fiber, mandate tougher standards for coal-fired power plants, and make the country’s transportation system nearly petroleum free. “  Could this be a real plan aimed at combating global warming coming from a presidential wannabe?  It sounds like a good start…