After John Edwards thrashed Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in MoveOn’s online straw poll on climate and energy, I wrote a piece here asking when the two front-runners would offer up their own bold and comprehensive proposal.
Obama finally has (for the most part) – see his announcement here.
There’s some great stuff, including a 100% auction of pollution credits towards a cap to reduce emissions 80% by 2050, $150 billion spent on clean energy and green jobs and making the U.S. a leader in international negotiations. All good things and part of the 1Sky platform we’re advocating for at Power Shift, our first-ever national youth summit.
This paragraph from his proposal is particularly good and sounds like things we’ve been advocating for here and with our allies at Green For All:
Barack Obama also believes the transition to a clean energy economy holds special promise for low-income communities and families, which are poised to shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden of global climate change. To combat this problem, Obama will create an energy-focused youth jobs program to invest in disconnected and disadvantaged youth. This program will provide youth participants with energy efficiency and environmental service opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings in their communities, while also providing them with practical skills and experience in important career fields of expected high-growth employment. The program will engage private sector employers and unions to provide apprenticeship opportunities. Participants will not only be able to use their training to find new jobs, but also build skills that will help them move up the career ladder over time.”
There’s also some key things not to like in Obama’s plan, like investments in “low-emissions coal plants” (remember Harry Reid saying there’s no such thing as clean coal?), his short-term emissions target of 1990 levels by 2020 (ahem, the European Union is aiming for 30% below 1990 levels by 2020 if the U.S. steps up), and his energy intensity target that sounds dangerously like a notorious Bushism.
But it’s a start. The big question for me now is … When’s Hillary Clinton going to get serious about this issue?
Hillary should have got together with Al and done something a long time ago to avoid this mess in the first place. She is not what you call visionary. Her team will feel the waters then probably copy Obama’s plan. We cannot let her celebrate her own coronation. Everyone needs to vote. Let’s get serious about solving problems.