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Despite
the Senate's reistance to climate change legislation, the Obama
administration has made considerable progress on the environmental
front.President Obama heeds the dire warnings of federal climate scientists.
Recently the President issued a comprehensive executive order that directs federal agencies to establish absolute goals for carbon-cuts, to reduce petroleum use in the federal vehicle fleet by 30 percent, to implement a net-zero-energy requirement for federal buildings and to add sustainability requirements to federal contracts.
Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward on regulations that would limit emissions from large polluters starting in 2011, The economic stimulus bill contained tens of billions of dollars for clean energy technologies including electric vehicles, efficiency and renewable energy.
The EPA and the Department of Transportation have proposed standards to increase the fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks in the US by 40 percent between 2012 and 2016, a move that would cut carbon emissions by nearly a billion tons and reduce oil consumption by nearly 2 billion barrels.
In September, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar created a Climate Change Response Council to coordinate the department's actions on global warming and move toward substantial renewable energy production on public lands.
At the the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, President Obama proposed eliminating fossil energy subsidies totaling about 300 billion annually. The administration also asked Congress to revoke domestic tax breaks for fossil energy industries.
The administration is seeking bilateral climate agreements with other key nations, In July, the administration signed a memorandum of understanding with China on energy, climate and environmental cooperation.
Through executive orders, departmental regulations and international diplomacy, the Obama administration has demonstrated a firm committment to managing climate change. However many senators have been advancing partisan interests ahead of national interests and with COP15 now only days away, a binding international agreement will have to wait.
