{"id":423,"date":"2008-03-19T10:36:54","date_gmt":"2008-03-19T15:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2008\/03\/19\/world_is_waiting\/"},"modified":"2008-06-09T10:11:38","modified_gmt":"2008-06-09T15:11:38","slug":"world_is_waiting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2008\/03\/19\/world_is_waiting\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a Bill in 2008: The World is Waiting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tony KreindlerThis post is by Tony Kreindler, Media Director for the National Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund. It’s the fourth in a series on Why a Bill in 2008<\/b>:<\/p>\n

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1. Same Politics in 2009<\/a>
\n2. Good versus Perfect<\/a>
\n3. The Price of Waiting<\/a>
\n4. The World is Waiting
\n5. Best Answer to High Gas Prices<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

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Why push for a climate bill in 2008? I’ve already given some important reasons in my previous posts: the politics will be much the same in 2009<\/a>, we don’t want to squander the current momentum<\/a>, and in any case, we simply can’t afford to wait<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But if those aren’t reason enough, here’s another: The world is waiting for us to act. To solve the global warming problem, China and other developing countries also must cap their emissions, and they won’t do this until our own cap is in place.<\/p>\n

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From a New York Times<\/a><\/i> report:<\/p>\n

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China is not going to act in any sort of mandatory-control way until the United States does first," said Joseph Kruger, policy director for the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan group in Washington.<\/p>\n

Along with India and other large developing countries, China has long maintained that the established industrial powers need to act first because they built their wealth largely by burning fossil fuels and adding to the atmosphere’s blanket of greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If the U.S. – the wealthiest country on Earth – won’t establish a cap, then how can we expect developing countries to do it?<\/p>\n

Global Negotiations Happening Now<\/h3>\n

Negotiations are underway already for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol<\/a> (the international treaty to cap greenhouse gas emissions). All current Kyoto commitments expire in 2012. Some 190 countries met last December in Bali<\/a> to begin the discussions. The plan is to approve a post-Kyoto framework at the 2009 meeting in Copenhagen. This gives countries the time needed to ratify and adopt implementing policies by 2012 so there’s no gap between the agreements.<\/p>\n

The level of commitment that both developed and developing countries will agree to in Copenhagen depends heavily on the level of U.S. commitment, as reflected in our domestic policy. If the U.S. hasn’t adopted its own mandatory cap before the 2009 framework meeting, it could seriously hamper negotiations and jeopardize the chance for a global agreement in 2012.<\/p>\n

Opportunities for U.S. Companies<\/h3>\n

A U.S. cap-and-trade system could provide developing countries with more than just incentive. The economic opportunities it would create for U.S. firms could help developing countries meet mandatory targets. It’s win-win. There are two main avenues by which U.S. firms could profit:<\/p>\n