Good news and bad news today on the [tag]global warming[/tag] front. First, the good news.
Britain and California are preparing to sidestep the Bush administration and fight global warming together by creating a joint market for greenhouse gases.
British Prime Minister [tag]Tony Blair[/tag] and California Gov. [tag]Arnold Schwarzenegger[/tag] plan to lay the groundwork for a new trans-Atlantic market in carbon dioxide emissions, The Associated Press has learned. Such a move could help California cut carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases scientists blame for warming the planet. President Bush has rejected the idea of ordering such cuts.
The basis for the Blair-Schwarzenegger agreement, which is scheduled to be announced this afternoon in Los Angeles, is to fix a price on carbon pollution, set caps on emissions, and “reward businesses that find a profitable way to minimize their carbon emissions, thereby encouraging new, greener technologies.” It’s all part of what’s called a “carbon trading program,” which already exists in Europe, and stems from the Kyoto Protocol.
As the 12th largest source of greenhouse gases in the world, California’s role in this deal is an important step in the right direction. The bad news, of course, is that the Bush administration is opposed to whole thing.
One of the higher-profile meetings on climate change is set to bring together this week British Prime Minister Tony Blair, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and about 25 chief executive officers of major corporations around the world.
But the Bush administration will be a conspicuous no-show.
Bush’s top environmental adviser, James Connaughton, was invited to today’s gathering in L.A., but announced he would skip the event, citing a “scheduling conflict.”
What an odd international dynamic. The prime minister of one of the nation’s closest allies can’t make any progress with our federal government, so he has to start striking deals with governors.
Just the kind of stand-up leadership we’ve come to expect from the Bush White House, which is committed to not “passing on problems to future generations.”