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KLMNO THE ENVIRONMENT Election could affect U.S. pledge on international climate aid


As Cancun summit nears, officials might not be able to deliver


BY JULIET EILPERIN As the next round of U.N. cli-


matetalksapproachthismonthin Cancun, Merxico, the Obama ad- ministrationfinds itself inanawk- ward position: pushing its endur- ing commitment to bold climate action even as the prospects for comprehensive legislation have evaporated at home. The atmosphere is very differ-


ent from a year ago, when U.S. negotiators headed to Copenha- gentouting the recent success of a House-passed climate bill. Now that legislation has died in the Senate, and with candidates poised to win this week who are more likely to focus onimmediate economic concerns than on long- term environmental and energy ones, these constraints are shap- ingU.S. climate diplomacy. Administration officials might


not be able to deliver on all the climate assistance they have promised to give poor countries by2012andhavequestionedsome financing proposals linked to lon- ger-term foreign aid. They are considering whether to challenge China’s renewable energy subsi- dies as violating international trade rules, and have objected to Europe’s plan to force airlines op- erating there to pay for their car- bonemissions. “The U.S. is conflicted,” said


Angela Anderson, programdirec- tor for the U.S. Climate Action Network. Some foreign politicians deliv-


er a harsher assessment. Rein- hard Hans Bütikofer, a member of the European Parliament who co-chaired the German Green Party until last year, said in an interview, “The yardstick Iwould measure the Obama administra- tion against has been set by the president himself, when he said in the early days of his adminis- tration he wanted to make the United States a leader in interna- tional climatepolicy.That is obvi-


DAVID GRAY/REUTERS Migrant workers near Beijing pass a coal-burning power station. The administration might challenge China’s renewable energy subsidies.


ously a test in which the U.S. is failing, by far.” As delegates from around the


worldwait toseewhethernegotia- tions starting Nov. 29 in Cancun produce ameaningful result, U.S. special climate envoy Todd Stern made it clear that the United States intends to pursue as hard a bargain as it did last year in Co- penhagen.Aspartof theCopenha- gen Accord, industrialized na- tionspledgedtomakegreenhouse gas cuts and give billions to poor countries over the next decade, in exchange for major developing countries agreeing to make their cuts in a transparent way, where other countries could monitor and verify their carbonemissions. “I don’t accept the notion that


because we didn’t get our legisla- tion passed, therefore we should show flexibility on transparency. There’s no linkage,” Stern said in


an interview. “We’re not playing thatway.” But ConnieHedegaard, the Eu-


ropean commissioner for climate action, said other countries are using U.S. lawmakers’ refusal to adopt binding limits on carbon dioxide to back away from the Copenhagen Accord, the deal forged inlast year’sU.N. talks. “Of course, from a European


perspective it’s regrettable the ad- ministration could not get legisla- tionthrough the Senate,” she said. “That makes it easier for other parties to hide behind the back of theUnited States.”


Foreign aid in doubt Last year, administration offi-


cials assumed that a plan to cap U.S. greenhouse gases and allow emitterstotradecarbonallowanc- es would help funnel millions to developing countries for climate


projects such as preserving tropi- cal forests; now that approach is politically dead. And even the ad- ministration’s ability to provide direct climate assistance to poor nations over the next two years is in doubt because a looming bud- get battle with Republicans could freezeU.S. foreignaidat thisyear’s levels, or evencut it. “That’s something people I talk


to in other capitals are very aware of,” said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advo- cacy group. In a preliminary U.N. climate


meeting in Tianjin, China, last month, Chinese negotiators ques- tionedwhether industrialized na- tions such as the United States would come through on their promises for international cli- mate aid. And the two nations are on the brink of a trade fight over


renewable energy: Last month, the Obama administration said it would investigate whether the United Steelworkers union was justified in charging that China’s clean-energy subsidies violated international trade rules. The United States also has also


joined Canada and Mexico in questioning whether the Europe- an Union has the right to start forcing foreign airlines flying to Europe in 2012 to pay for their carbon emissions as part of the E.U.’s carbon trading systemwith- out the “mutual agreement” of the countries where these operators originate. A newdispute could flare up at


the end of the week, when an international task force charged with showing how rich nations canmobilize $100 billion by 2020 for climate assistance will outline options for generating that mon-


ey. Lawrence H. Summers, who chairs the White House National Economic Council, has served in the group and questioned some of theproposals, includingimposing a newfee on some financial trans- actions. Stern declined to comment in


detailonthe closed-doordelibera- tions of the group. But he said, “There are some things that are proposed that we just don’t think are good ideas.”


U.S. stands by itsword The United States is not back-


ing away from the pledge Obama made last year to cut the nation’s overall emissions 17 percent com- pared with 2005 levels, although negotiators from developing countrieshave askedthe adminis- tration to provide amore detailed accounting on how it will accom- plishthat goal. “I’dlike theUnited States to putmore on the table in terms of government perfor- mance on climate change,” said Brazil’s environmentminister, Iz- abellaTeixeira. SternsaidtheUnitedStateshas


no plans to do that. “We’re stand- ing behind what we put in last year,”hesaid. “Ifwedon’tget there through comprehensive legisla- tion, there’s other ways to get there.” Critics of the United States,


such as Bolivia’sU.N. ambassador ,Pablo Solon, are already prepar- ing to blame Washington for de- railing the upcoming talks. “If the U.S. doesn’t make any positive move before Cancun, and during Cancun,wewill have a big failure in Cancun,” he said. “We’re going to see how politics in one state is going todefine the entire futureof humankind.Andthat’s something we cannot accept.” But others, such as Norwegian


Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim, said negotiators fromall sides will have to recognize the current political realities in the United States and elsewhere, and strike the most meaningful com- promise they can. “The house cannot be built in


oneday,”Solheimsaid. “Thehouse has to be built floor by floor.” eilperinj@washpost.com


MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2010


Thank You, Mr. President


Dr. Ludy Green President and Founder


Second Chance Employment Services congratulates you, President Obama, for your leadership in recognizing the important role employment plays in freeing women from the chains of domestic violence.


We applaud your remarks on October 27 at the White House event honoring Domestic Violence Awareness month that highlight employment as the key to breaking the cycle of violence:


“…So we’re going to start taking steps to connect survivors with jobs, to help them save, to make it easier for them to rebuild their credit, to make sure that no one has to choose between a violent home and no home at all.”


Second Chance is the first employment agency in the U.S. dedicated solely to victims of domestic violence.


Founded in 2001 by Dr. Ludy Green, Second Chance directly connects victims of abuse with human resource professionals at over 200 corporations across America.


On behalf of the Board of Directors and our President and Founder, Second Chance extends our gratitude and our support.


Dr. Ronald S. Perlman, Chairman


Dr. Ronald S. Perlman, MD Chairman of the Board


and Founding Board Member


Judge Mark Kennedy Vice Chairman of the Board


Former Chief of Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama


Mr. Rich Massabny Secretary of the Board


Television Host and Producer


Ms. Georgette Mosbacher Board Member


President and CEO Borghese


The Honorable Barbara Sheen-Todd Board Member


Former President of the National Association of County Officials (NACO)


Ms. Carol A. Roberts Board Member


Former Mayor of Palm Beach, Florida President County Commissioner West Palm Beach www.scesnet.org


Dr. Joseph Zeidner Board Member


Professor Emeritus of the Administrative Sciences and Psychology –


The George Washington University 1-888-331-7451


Kevin A. Ryan, DDS Board Member


Dr. Constance Battle, MD Board Member


Professor – The George Washington University


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