Opinion: Why the US lags on climate change initiatives

WASHINGTON — As we are in the midst of international climate negotiations in Copenhagen, we find a less than encouraging environment for climate legislation in the United States.

The House of Representatives narrowly passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (Waxman-Markey Bill) by a vote of 219-212. The companion bill in the Senate sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) has been pushed back on the political agenda due to the health care debate and the jobs summit. The president has indicated that his next priority will be financial reform.

Compounding this crowded congressional schedule is U.S. public opinion on the issue. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center indicates that there has been a remarkable decline in the number of Americans who believe that there is solid evidence for global warming — a mere 57 percent compared with 71 percent who said they believed in global warming just a year earlier.

Nonetheless, despite this decrease in belief that global warming is occurring, the vast majority of Americans, 88 percent, is in favor of the United States taking some action to control emissions. Indeed 56 percent believe we should cooperate with other countries while 32 percent believe we should take domestic action alone.

However, the perception that the American public is not on board in recognizing climate change as even being a concern needs to be addressed if there is any prospect of climate legislation proceeding.

Some in Congress now indicate they would like to postpone a vote on climate legislation until after the mid-term elections in 2010 out of fear of a public backlash against an affirmative vote. Obviously such a postponement would make President Barack Obama’s pledge to cut U.S. emissions in the range of 17 percent by 2020 — compared to 2005 levels — largely an empty promise.

The root of the problem for inaction by the United States, though, is arguably not the members of Congress but rather the people they represent. 

Perhaps one explanation for this lack of urgency among the American people is how climate change is being presented by political leaders and the media. Too often we are bombarded with reports of the supposed costs of addressing the issue through such mechanisms as cap and trade (higher electricity prices, loss of jobs, loss of competitive edge, etc.), but rarely are the costs of inaction raised. Climate change is not simply an environmental issue that we can try to address at some cost, small or large, balanced against consideration for a strong economy, jobs, energy security, national security, etc., but rather is and will increasingly become a key consideration to solving all these issues.

Climate change could have profound impacts on U.S. security and costs to the American taxpayer, such as replacing and rebuilding infrastructure damaged by severe flooding or storms, lack of access to water due to droughts in areas like the southwest, and endangering our ability to produce wheat and grain in the farm belt not only to feed ourselves but also the world.

Military leaders, for example, are beginning to take notice of what a world that has warmed by 2 degrees Celsius or more will mean for their operations. At a basic level, naval bases will be severely affected by projected sea level rise. Perhaps more dire will be demands placed upon the U.S. military and other forces around the world as people are forced to move due to degraded environmental conditions.

Scientists are projecting that the “third pole” — the Himalayan glaciers — is retreating at an accelerated rate and could be gone by 2035. These glaciers are the source of water for seven of the region’s main rivers and provide water to billions of people. The threat of water scarcity due to the glacial melt is a cause for concern for the stability of the region. Conflicts between China and India over water rights have already arisen and could worsen. India is constructing a wall to keep out millions of potential "climate refugees” from Bangladesh while the Prime Minister of the Maldives is looking for land for his citizens in India for the time when the Maldives vanish into the sea.

The Brookings Institution along with other prominent think tanks such as Chatham House and IES are participating in a project to raise the awareness of the security implications of climate change in the hopes that this added voice from the military community could help sway the public opinion on the issue and clear the path for serious action.

Charles Ebinger is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy Security Initiative at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Lea Rosenbohm is the Initiative’s Project Manager.