Germany urges Obama to give world new "green" deal

Reuters 6 Nov 08;

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States after Barack Obama becomes president must work closely with Europe to fight climate change, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday.

"The world needs a 'new green deal'," Germany's Vice Chancellor said in a speech opening a two-day conference "Climate Change as a Security Threat." Steinmeier has warned climate change is a cause of friction and a threat to peace. Germany long has been a leading critic of U.S. President George W. Bush's resistance to cuts in greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

President-elect Obama said in his acceptance speech on Tuesday that climate change was a top priority, alongside wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- marking a sharp shift with Bush.

In his speech, Steinmeier said he was confident Obama was serious about tackling climate change. Steinmeier, who met Obama in July, said he had made his views on fighting climate change clear during the U.S. election.

"Obama is fully aware of America's global responsibility," Steinmeier said at the conference in Freiburg, a hotbed of photovoltaic energy production in Germany's southwest corner also known as the country's "solar city."

"It's hard to imagine a better time for this conference -- 24 hours after the U.S. election," he said in the speech, extracts of which were released by the Foreign Ministry.

"Climate change is a challenge that we'll either rise to meet collectively or we will fail collectively," Steinmeier said, adding close European-American cooperation in the fight against global warming is vital to finding solutions.

Germany is a world leader of renewable energy and produces more than half of the world's photovoltaic energy. The European Union plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Obama aims to cut U.S. emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 even though U.S. emissions were 14 percent above 1990 levels in 2006.

Obama's targets are nevertheless a welcome shift from Bush, who kept the United States isolated from 37 other industrial nations by rejecting the U.N.'s carbon-capping Kyoto Protocol.

(Writing by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by Michael Roddy)

Could Obama appoint a "climate czar"?
Deborah Zabarenko Reuters 6 Nov 08;

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. environmental groups see Barack Obama's presidential victory as a chance to undo the Bush legacy on global warming, and one idea they are discussing is the possibility of a White House "climate czar".

Members of the environmental community in and around Washington say such a post could oversee various government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department, to focus on tackling global warming and fostering clean energy to jump-start the flagging economy.

"For the first time, candidates and voters are really connecting the dots between energy, the environment and the economy," said Cathy Duvall, Sierra Club's political director. She said at a news briefing that Obama had made it clear that investing in cleaner energy would be a top priority in his plan for economic recovery.

One way to coordinate these interrelated issues would be to have one person in charge, based at the White House, according to sources in the environmental community familiar with the idea.

They said this could be part of a White House special council on energy and environment, analogous to the National Security Council. This kind of organization could be more effective than the Environmental Protection Agency has been under President George W. Bush, one source said.

Obama made clear in his acceptance speech on Tuesday that he sees climate change as a critical problem, along with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the wilting economy.

"For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century," the Illinois Democratic senator said in Chicago.

Obama also has articulated that the economy, energy and climate change are inter-related problems.

The Bush administration has been accused by environmental groups of politicizing decision-making and failing to act on U.S. government scientists' recommendations to curb greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

Bush accepts that human activities spur climate change, but has rejected mandatory across-the-board limits on global warming emissions, maintaining that this would hurt the U.S. economy. The United States is alone among major industrialized nations in staying out of the carbon-curbing Kyoto Protocol.

SOMEONE WITH THE PRESIDENT'S TRUST

There is now a White House Council on Environmental Quality that is the Bush administration's policy voice on climate change, but its staff is small and it might not have the resources to do the wide-ranging job some environmental experts see as necessary.

"What Obama understands is that dealing with the transition to a new energy economy is the centerpiece for getting the economy moving again," said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Meyer said this needs to be approached in a strategic and integrated way.

"I think they need to make clear who's running the show on these issues," Meyer said by telephone. "It's got to be someone who has the trust and ear of the president, someone who's positioned in the White House and someone who has the authority to get the agencies to cooperate on running the agenda. That's a heavy lift."

With such a wide-ranging position still in the discussion stage, speculation has centered on likely candidates for Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

These include Democratic Governors Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Kathleen Sibelius of Kansas, both of whom have pushed to limit greenhouse emissions.

Carol Browner, who is part of the Obama transition team, is a former EPA chief and could conceivably be offered an environment post in the new administration.

Mary Nichols, now head of California's Air Resources Board, has been active in opposing a state ballot proposition that she maintains would increase greenhouse emissions. As a member of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration, she is seen as having the ability to work across party lines.

Kathleen McGinty, Pennsylvania's former Environment Secretary, has also been mentioned as a possible EPA chief.

Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute, which does policy research on environment and sustainability, is also considered a potential candidate.

(Editing by Anthony Boadle)

Obama's positions on energy issues
Reuters 6 Nov 08;

(Reuters) - Energy was a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign after high gasoline prices added to consumer woes this year and candidates pledged to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

Here is a look at the energy plan of President-elect Barack Obama.

ENERGY RESEARCH

Obama wants to invest $150 billion over 10 years on low-carbon energy sources that will help create 5 million jobs, double research and development spending on biomass, solar and wind resources; accelerate commercialization of plug-in hybrid cars, invest in low-emission coal plants.

WINDFALL PROFITS TAX

Obama supports a five-year windfall tax on excessive profits of large oil companies. The proceeds from the tax would pay for a $1,000 tax rebate for low- and middle-income families to help them cope with rising energy prices.

OIL USE

Obama would reduce overall U.S. oil consumption within 10 years to offset the millions of barrels of crude imported from OPEC members in the Middle East and Venezuela.

VEHICLE FUEL ECONOMY

Obama would raise vehicle fuel economy standards by 4 percent a year and give automakers $4 billion in assistance to retool plants for making new fuel-efficient cars. Provide a $7,000 tax credit for purchasing "advanced technology" vehicles and put 1 million plug-in hybrid cars that get 150 miles per gallon on the road by 2015.

EXISTING DRILLING LEASES

Require energy companies to develop the 68 million acres leased from the government for oil and natural gas drilling or lose those leases.

OFFSHORE DRILLING

Obama opposed lifting the congressional moratorium on drilling in federal lands off U.S. coasts, but now says he would support limited expanded offshore drilling as part of broader legislation to help solve America's energy problems.

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE DRILLING

Obama opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE

Earlier in the campaign, Obama opposed releasing oil from the reserve unless there was a severe supply disruption, but he now supports releasing 70 million barrels of light sweet crude, which would be replaced later with heavier crude.

BIOFUELS

Require the U.S. to produce at least 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol a year by 2030; build ethanol distribution infrastructure, mandate that all new vehicles be "flex fuel" by end of his first term, produce 2 billion gallons of "cellulosic" ethanol from non-corn sources like switchgrass and wood chips by 2013.

NUCLEAR POWER

Obama supports nuclear power, but says how to dispose of nuclear waste from U.S. plants and prevent nuclear proliferation must be solved before more reactors are built. He opposes storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Obama would cut carbon dioxide emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050; reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020; require fuel suppliers to cut carbon content of their fuel by 10 percent by 2020.

ELECTRICITY

Obama wants to require U.S. utilities to generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025; extend for 5 years the federal production tax credit for electricity generated by renewable sources; modernize the electric grid.

WEATHERIZE HOMES

Obama wants to weatherize 1 million low-income homes a year by installing fuel-efficient furnaces, replacing windows and adding insulation.

(Compiled by Tom Doggett and Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Walter Bagley)