Resources for Climate at State

The Guardian's Environment Blog has an interesting post on the resources devoted to Climate Change at State. They say:

Todd Stern, her special envoy for Climate Change, is getting only half a dozen
aides. That's just two more than the special envoy for Guantanamo.

They compare that with Holbrooke's 50 staff and $8.5 million budget.

However, I think this mis-represents the issue. Holbrooke's authority in Afghanistan and Pakistan is the sole responsibility of the State Department. On the other hand, responsibility for climate change policy is shared across the government: including by the EPA, the Department of Energy, the White House Council for Environmental Quality, and the National Security Council.

It cuts across so many lines because Climate Change is not just an issue of diplomacy, it is also an energy issue, an environmental issue, and -- increasingly -- a security issue.