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.

A week of Action on the Hill

As Sophia mentioned below, this has been quite a week on the Hill for hearings on Climate Change. Although not specifically related to the security effects of climate change, it is nonetheless important to keep up with what's going down on the Hill. Here's so quick links to articles about the hearings:

This morning, Al Gore testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee that this bill "has the moral significance equivalent to that of the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s and the Marshall Plan of the late 1940s.'' Testifying along with him, Newt Gingrich, however, said that this bill was a "huge mistake" and ammounted to a major new tax on energy.

At the same hearing, former Senator Warner focused on the national security implications of climate change.

Among the things that this bill would do, it would create a new "National Climate Service" to log and coolate all the data in the US about climate change.

On Huffington Post, John Kerry writes that Newt is rehashing "The same tired formula".

US Climate Change and Energy Bill

The week of 20-24 April marks a big week in the US Congress, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will have four hearings discussing the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, entitled “The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.” Among the departments testifying was the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), as well as the Department of Energy (DOE). Every department has economic recovery on the top of their agendas.

According to Jackson from the EPA, the funding provided by the stimulus bill for the ARRA has allowed the EPA to bring numerous new clean jobs into the US economy, working to overhaul clean-water systems, restoring and redeveloping polluted properties, and installing clean-air equipment on diesel engines. But this stimulus funding will run out, and the Administration believes there needs to be long-term structural change in advanced clean energy industries that will help the US recover in the long-term. They claim these jobs created through clean energy and energy efficiency standards cannot be shipped overseas, avoiding job leakage.

Steven Chu from the DOE said the US has not had a clear energy strategy for decades and although much has been done already, the US needs to set clear long-term emissions reductions goals that “empower the private sector to find the most innovative ways to reduce carbon pollution.” The US needs to be the leader in clean technology. US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood calls for major investments in building high speed rail lines and other options to reduce the amount of carbon-intensive transportation. This bill needs to combine clean job creation, technology innovation and investments that facilitate long-term low-carbon infrastructure. In doing so, the US can become an international leader in climate change legislation as well as stimulate economic recovery.

According to the Obama administration officials, such a bill would help promote economic recovery and reduce consumption of foreign oil, hopefully enough progress will be made by the end of this week in order to put these words into action.