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

There is a major climate convening taking place this week that could decide the future of our energy use.  The fate of the climate and hours of blood, sweat, and tears of climate activists will culminate in this round of intense deliberations and negotiations.  Rockingham/Strafford Energy Committee Alliance Workshop will take place tomorrow night in Durham.  Check out the workshop flyer for more details.

Also on the climate agenda, are two international summits in New York and Washington.  Today, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon is holding one of the largest international summits ever to discuss climate change issues at the UN.  Unfortunately, President Bush will not attend any of the day’s meetings but will attend the dinner this evening.  The UN forum will begin post-Kyoto discussions in anticipation of the formal discussions to take place in Bali this December.

Later in the week President Bush will convene his own summit to address climate change with the fifteen ‘major economies’ of the world.  “It’s our philosophy that each nation has the sovereign capacity to decide for itself what its own portfolio of policies should be,” said James L. Connaughton, Bush’s top environmental aid.  While Bush has begun to take action on climate change in recent months, many environmentalist and world leaders are angry at Bush’s reluctance to commit to binding international emissions caps; Bush remains more in favor of voluntary emissions targets.

Is President Bush responding to the 164 New Hampshire towns that passed the climate change resolution calling for national leadership on climate change?  Until specifics materialize about how voluntary targets will break the status quo, the question remains unanswered.