Bipartisan
House
Resolution
Calls
for
U.S.
to
Negotiate
Climate
Commitments
On
July
25,
Rep.
Carnahan
(D-MO)
and
co-sponsor
Rep.
Leach
(R-IA)
introduced
a
concurrent
resolution
(H.
Con.
Res.
453)
in
the
House
expressing
the
Sense
of
Congress
regarding
the
need
for
the
United
States
to
address
global
climate
change
through
the
negotiation
of
fair
and
effective
international
commitments.
The
resolution
language
mirrors
that
of
the
Lugar-Biden
Sense
of
the
Senate
resolution
(S.
Res.
312),
which
was
introduced
in
the
Senate
in
November
and
reported
out
of
the
Senate
Committee
on
Foreign
Relations
July
25.
Both
resolutions
call
for
U.S.
participation
in
negotiations
under
the
U.N.
Framework
Convention
on
Climate
Change
to
establish
mitigation
commitments
for
all
countries
that
are
major
emitters
of
greenhouse
gases
(GHGs).
The
Carnahan-Leach
resolution
states
that
the
United
States
should
act
to
reduce
the
health,
environmental,
economic,
and
national
security
risks
posed
by
global
climate
change,
foster
sustained
economic
growth
through
a
new
generation
of
technologies
and
to
achieve
a
significant
long-term
reduction
in
global
GHG
emissions.
The
Carnahan-Leach
resolution
was
referred
to
the
Committee
on
International
Relations.
Click
on
the
following
link
for
the
text
of
the
resolution:
H.
Con.
Res.
453
(pdf
format)
PM
Blair
and
Gov.
Schwarzenegger
Sign
Climate
Pact
On
July
31,
Prime
Minister
Tony
Blair
and
California
Gov.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
signed
an
agreement
in
San
Francisco
to
commit
to
urgent
action
to
reduce
greenhouse
gas
(GHG)
emissions
and
promote
low
carbon
technologies.
PM
Blair
and
Gov.
Schwarzenegger
believe
that
the
agreement
would
help
both
California
and
the
United
Kingdom
(UK)
to
reduce
the
economic
and
environmental
impacts
of
climate
change
as
well
as
reduce
their
dependency
on
imported
oil.
PM
Blair,
who
was
also
meeting
with
British
business
leaders,
said
that
global
warming
is
"long
term,
the
single
biggest
issue
we
face."
Gov.
Schwarzenegger
said,
"California
will
not
wait
for
our
federal
government
to
take
strong
action
on
global
warming."
The
terms
of
the
agreement
foresee
collaboration
between
California
and
the
UK
on
market-based
mechanisms
that
spur
innovation,
the
understanding
of
the
economics
of
climate
change,
technology
research,
and
linkages
between
the
two
scientific
communities.
The
pact
says
"California
and
the
UK
recognize
the
linkages
between
climate
change,
energy
security,
human
health
and
robust
economic
growth."
It
adds
"Working
together,
California
and
the
UK
commit
to
build
upon
current
efforts,
share
experiences,
find
new
solutions,
and
work
to
educate
the
public
on
the
need
for
aggressive
action
to
address
climate
change
and
promote
energy
diversity."
The
pact
is
seen
by
many
as
a
departure
from
the
policies
of
the
Bush
Administration
which
has
not
signed
the
mandatory
emission
reductions
of
the
Kyoto
Protocol.
By
signing
this
agreement,
Gov.
Schwarzenegger
aims
to
bring
California’s
emissions
below
1990
levels
by
2020.
This
goal
is
consistent
with
Gov.
Schwarzenegger’s
Executive
Order
S-3-05
which
sets
California’s
GHG
targets
as
reduction
to
2000
emission
levels
by
2010,
reduction
to
1990
emission
levels
by
2020,
and
reduction
to
80
percent
below
1990
levels
by
2050.
Twenty-Two
Cities
Join
the
Clinton
Climate
Initiative
On
August
1,
the
Clinton
Foundation
and
the
mayors
of
22
of
the
world’s
largest
cities
met
in
Los
Angeles
to
form
a
partnership
to
reduce
greenhouse
gases
(GHG)
as
part
of
the
fight
against
climate
change.
The
alliance
aims
to
reduce
the
price
of
energy-saving
products
and
accelerate
the
development
of
new
clean
energy
technologies.
Urban
areas
are
responsible
for
more
than
75
percent
of
world’s
total
GHG
emissions.
The
40
cities
targeted
by
former
President
Bill
Clinton,
who
launched
the
initiative,
emit
about
15-20
percent
of
all
GHGs.
Although
the
pact
does
not
require
any
mandatory
reduction,
London
Mayor
Ken
Livingstone
said,
"The
world's
largest
cities
can
have
a
major
impact
on
this."
Clinton
said,
"It
no
longer
makes
sense
for
us
to
debate
whether
or
not
the
Earth
is
warming
at
an
alarming
rate,
and
it
doesn't
make
sense
for
us
to
sit
back
and
wait
for
others
to
act."
New
York
City,
London,
Chicago,
New
Delhi,
Mexico
City,
Berlin,
Beijing,
and
Paris
are
among
the
22
cities
that
together
would
work
to
increase
the
use
of
energy-efficient
lighting
systems,
improve
building
codes
and
land
use
methods.
They
also
will
work
to
deploy
hybrid
buses,
encourage
the
use
of
clean
fuels,
and
design
better
traffic
congestion
management.
Because
cities
do
not
regulate
automobiles
and
the
power
utilities
that
account
for
most
of
their
emissions,
experts
believe
that
the
alliance
could
help
but
by
itself
cannot
achieve
the
reductions
needed
to
stop
global
temperature
from
reaching
a
critical
level.
Additional
policies
would
be
needed
to
do
so.
