The candidates seem to have a ‘plan’ for everything. What might their climate change action plan include? Check out our seven benchmarks for a Presidential Leadership Agenda on climate change:

1. Legislation for economy-wide emissions reductions.
2. Aggressive R&D for low-carbon technology.
3. Federal planning for climate change impacts and response.
4. Picking the right team to carry the initiative.
5. Cooperation with international partners.
6. Reallocation of budget priorities.
7. Enable/encourage citizens to take conservation into their own hands.

Senator Chris Dodd

How do Dodd's climate change quotes relate to our seven benchmarks?

1. Legislation for economy-wide emissions reductions:
Carbon Tax- "Price is the barrier. Its not a question of people not wanting to move to cleaner technologies and cleaner fuels, the price is a major barrier here…I think we need a corporate carbon tax…it would be about 10 cents a gallon and it would raise about 50 billion dollars per year." Watch the video

Fuel Efficiency- “I am an advocate of a 50mpg standard for all automobiles by the year 2017. Don’t anyone in this room tell me it can’t be done.” Watch the video

“If we don’t raise CAFE, we may lose the automobile industry.” Listen to the audio (11 mins into the program)

2. Aggressive R&D for low-carbon energy technology:
"What I would do with fifty billion dollars is, is that we would make a fast track program to move these technologies along much more rapidly so that they become available much more quickly for people." Watch the video

3. Federal planning for climate change impacts and response:

4. Picking the right team to carry the initiative:

5. Cooperation with international partners:
"As the American President I will organize a global meeting on these issues…we should be asking the Chinese and others, bright talented people to come together to advance the technologies that eliminate the dependence on…these fuels that cause so many problems." Watch the video

"Why isn’t the United States leading and asking the Chinese and others with bright talented people to come together to advance the technologies to eliminate the dependence on these polluting technologies and fuels?" Watch the video

6. Reallocation of budget priorities:

7. Enable/encourage citizens to take efficiency and conservation into their own hands:
50 billion from Carbon Tax- "Secondly, it would provide tax breaks for people who would like to make those options (clean energy) where there still is a bit of a price differential" Watch the video

Other Global Warming Quotes from New Hampshire

• Renewable Energy
  

  "We are discovering that you can get energy from a lot of other sources other than corn, sugar cane is the most successful in Brazil right now. So the concern about corn is not illegitimate. It has driven up prices, which is great for farmers…but that drives up the cost of food as well." Listen to the audio (11 mins into the program)
  

  - October 19, The Exchange
  "In the far west you have geothermal energy, you have ocean thermal gradients in the gulf state areas, you have wind in western Iowa." Listen to the audio (11 mins into the program)
  
  - October 19, The Exchange

• Nuclear
  

  "I don’t take nuclear power off the table. We have serious issues of waste and transportation that need to be dealt with, but I think that if you are going to be honest about global warming, you can’t avoid the fact that 53% of our grid is operated on a coal base. So you are going to have to talk about an alternative." Listen to the audio (11 mins into the program)
  

  - October 19, The Exchange

• Other
  

  "I won’t wait until January 20th, 2009 to start this. On healthcare and environmental energy policy, I will start the day after I am elected to the Presidency and bring people together." Listen to the audio (11 mins into the program)
  

  - October 19, The Exchange

Nothing in Promises, Commitments & Priorities: Seeking a Presidential Leadership Agenda is meant to imply an endorsement of any candidate or political party.