Rob Horowitz: Obama Administration Launches Promising Climate Change Initiative

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Rob Horowitz, GoLocal MINDSETTER™

Last week, together with Bangladesh, Canada, Mexico Sweden and the UN Environmental Program, the Obama Administration launched a new well-targeted climate change initiative that has the potential to bring about real results. Spearheaded by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, this new effort is aimed at reducing black carbon, methane and hydrofluorocarbons-turbo-charged short-lived warming agents that account for about 1/3 of all global warming.

Along with the prospect of limiting global temperature increases, the so-called “Global Climate Change and Clean Air Initiative” has the added potential benefits of reducing annual deaths from air pollution worldwide by 2.5 million and preventing crop damage.

While this new effort is no substitute for tackling the tougher issue of substantially reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that contribute to over 60% of global warming or for reaching a new broad and comprehensive international agreement that includes China and India, it is an important step forward.

Since the UN Climate Summit in 2009, where President Obama was only able to negotiate an agreement with voluntary targets, there have been some meaningful understandings achieved between key actors such as the United States and China, but little substantive progress. And in the United States, sweeping legislation to address climate change through a market-based cap and trade system is stalled with no prospect of movement before the election and likely facing a daunting uphill fight in the next Congress.

As a result, this new initiative provides some desperately needed good news in the wake of frustrating inaction on the climate front. Black carbon is a many times more powerful warming agent than regular old CO2 and reduction efforts can be well-targeted. For example, over 80% of the black carbon in the United States is generated by diesel fuels and can be substantially reduced through the installation of filters.

It was a successful launch last week, but it will be important for Secretary Clinton to get more nations on board for and to attract more resources. The $15 million in start-up funds, most of which are being provided by the United States, will need to be supplemented by other wealthy nations. A major focus must be on encouraging participating nations to quickly adopt policies to reduce these high-powered pollutants. This will generate the momentum required to make this effort worldwide.

Still, in this eerily warm winter, it is good to see this promising initiative—an initiative that begins to reflect the seriousness of the problem of climate change as outlined by an overwhelming majority of our scientists.

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.