Hot off the press this morning is Obama's new CC envoy for negotiations:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/01/26/todd_stern_expected_as_us_climate_change_envoy/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news
A helpful statement by Clinton: "With the appointment today of a special envoy we are sending an unequivocal message that the United States will be energetic, focused, strategic and serious about addressing global climate change and the corollary issue of clean energy,".
This next one may not be so helpful: "No solution is feasible without all major emitting nations joining together and playing an important part."
This sounds awfully similar to the US' stance at Kyoto, and we know what happened there. To compound things further, the head of the envoy is Todd Stern, a senior White House official under former President Bill Clinton, who was part of the negotiation team at Kyoto!! Let's hope that he is brave enough to make the calls this time, 10 years on.
"The time for denial, delay and dispute is over. The time for the United States to take up its rightful place at the negotiating table is here" Stern said.
"We can only meet the climate challenge with a response that is genuinely global," he said. "We will need to engage in vigorous, dramatic diplomacy."
This is a classic politician's line with a get out clause....we will just have to wait and see.
Van Ness Feldman law firm's weekly CC policy is out today:
http://www.vnf.com/news-policyupdates-235.html
Looks like we can be expecting climate change legislation including cap and trade early 2009. This is after Obama's call last week for a $825 billion economic stimulus package which included a total of $77 billion for clean energy. $37.8 billion for energy efficiency, $27.8 billion for renewable energy and $11.6 billion for transportation programmes.
The MF Global weekly CDM and VER report is also out . The situation with CERs is so depressing these days, and it's sad that clean tech projects are being postponed and canceled due to the low CER price and uncertainty facing the CDM post 2012. The VER market however remains "buoyant with consistent trading activity", with vintage VCUs trading at around $6 a tonne. That is surprising.
Also coming from that report was this: "China will receive $2.8 million in financial support from the Asian Development Bank to design and implement a national emissions trading scheme". Wow I never thought China would progress this fast on CC but it shows they are serious. And when China is serious, it gets is done faster and at bigger than anyone else. Plenty to be hopeful from this.
To finish off, more hopeful signs coming from Obama in the Australian today. And even GM and Ford are on board too??
"General Motors said it was “working aggressively on the products and the advance technologies that match the nation's and consumers' priorities to save energy and reduce emissions,” and was ready to work with Mr Obama and Congress."
"The 11 member Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which includes Ford and Chrysler, said it was also ready to work with the administration."
Is this still earth I'm living in???
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