John Podesta: Climate Change as Cultural Change | Center for American Progress
If we were to look at the combined reductions that would be achieved from all provisions of the Waxman-Markey bill, then they go beyond the stated targets for the cap and trade system — which is only one part of an enormously comprehensive bill. ... The U.S. profile at Copenhagen should not simply be assessed only from cap and trade-related reductions, but should include all complimentary requirements. ...
We should approach our negotiating position with the major emitters in the developing world with a similar mindset. China, by way of example, is already ahead of schedule to achieve a 20-percent improvement in energy intensity by 2020 using 2005 levels as a benchmark. ...
At the Center for American Progress, we propose the idea of “Carbon Cap Equivalents” as a way of profiling a country’s commitment to meeting emissions reductions. This would entail adding up the full range of supplemental and complimentary proposals to each country’s carbon cap, and converting this into one comparable figure of what these emissions reductions would effectively amount to if they had been the result of a carbon cap alone. ... I’d like to underline that this is not an attempt to sidestep the goals of the UNFCCC process. The United States must take on ambitions midterm and mid-century caps that are measurable and verifiable. ...
[W]e must come to the table with bold, innovative ideas and a cooperative spirit to address this challenge. We need a revolution of technological innovation in the energy sector, and we need a profound change in our culture and ethics that emphasizes our connectivity and global common good.
