Leading green NGOs in the United States have urged President Barack Obama to “elevate the issue of climate disruption and climate solutions in the public discourse”
As President Obama prepares for his State of the Union address later this month, he is facing renewed calls to make action on climate change a central plank of his second term.
This comes after leaders from 70 green NGOs wrote to the president urging him to “elevate climate solutions to the top tier of your domestic agenda and America’s bilateral and global diplomatic priorities”.
British news website BusinessGreen reports the group, which includes high profile campaigners such as 350.org’s Bill McKibben, Mindy Lubber of sustainable investment group Ceres, and Friends of the Earth’s Erich Pica, praises Mr Obama’s assertion during the election campaign that “climate change is not a hoax”.
However they also called on him to take a much bolder stance on climate change issues during his second term than he did during his first four years in office.
Specifically, the group called on President Obama to “raise your voice” on climate issues and publicly “connect the dots between carbon pollution and extreme weather”.
They also urged him to use his executive authority to advance green policies.
BusinessGreen says commentators on Capitol Hill have warned that with the House of Representatives controlled by the republicans substantial legislative action on climate change will be almost impossible to achieve.
However, the group of green leaders maintain that there are steps the President can take to tighten environmental rules.
“You have the authority under existing law to achieve urgently needed reductions in the carbon pollution that is disrupting our climate and damaging our health,” they wrote.
“Most significantly, you can set standards that cut carbon pollution from America’s aging power plant fleet at least 25 per cent by 2020 while boosting energy efficiency and shifting to clean energy sources.
“Power plants are our largest source of carbon pollution and you have the authority and responsibility to clean them up under the Clean Air Act.
“This will create tens of thousands of clean energy jobs, meet the pollution targets you set for the country, and restore US international leadership.”
They also called on the President to categorically reject increased investment in carbon intensive “dirty fuels” and related infrastructure, most notably by blocking the planned development of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
The White House has signalled that the President will accelerate efforts to tackle climate change during his second term.
However officials have also counselled that flagship legislation is unlikely, while noting that President Obama’s campaign promised more investment in domestic oil and gas production as well as increased support for clean energy.
The intervention comes as Democrats prepare for the latest round of negotiations over spending cuts, which were delayed until March under the “fiscal cliff” deal agreed last week.
Senior Democrats have vowed to protect spending on clean energy and energy efficiency programs managed by the Department of Energy and delivered by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
However, they face a major battle to protect all spending on green technology programs, with many Republicans signalling they will oppose spending on environmental programmes they regard as unnecessary.
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