Blair urges US to act on climate change

Former British prime minister calls on America to not put off action on the environment due to the economic recession
Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 March 2009 22.36 GMT

Tony Blair called on America to live up to its global leadership role on climate change today, and not put off action because of the economic recession.
Blair, who presided over a high-powered gathering of business and political leaders at Congress on the same day that Gordon Brown arrived in Washington, said that the international community would be looking to America to set the pace ahead of climate talks in Copenhagen later this year.
"We know that America has a key leadership role on this as on all other issues and there is tremendous excitement about the commitment that the new President Obama has made here," Blair said.
"I think first of all the most important thing is that America comes to Copenhagen and wants to be part of the global deal and is a part of it."
Blair went on to say that no workable deal could be expected to emerge from Copenhagen without America or China, the world's two biggest polluters. "A global accord is essential and the blunt reality is that the position of China and the position of the US will be crucial to getting one."
In prepared remarks, the former prime minister acknowledged that world leaders would be consumed by their efforts to climb out of the economic recession. "But 2009 should also be the year we summon the will and the wit to conclude a new treaty on climate change," he said. "We can not ignore it. To do so would be to multiply the risks to our future economy as well as environment."
Today's gathering of political and business leaders on climate change was the most high powered of its kind since Barack Obama became president. It was designed to help provide momentum to his green agenda.
Organisers counted 15 Republican and Democratic US senators and three governors as well as business leaders from Cisco, General Electric and Duke Energy. Connie Hedegaard, who will preside over the Copenhagen talks as Denmark's climate and energy minister, and Nicholas Stern, also attended.
Leaders including Blair said they were encouraged by the Obama Administration's early moves on the environment, especially the inclusion of $100 in green investment in his economic recovery plan.
"It surely makes sense as part of long term investment to invest in clean energy for the future so that as the economy grows again in the future we do not find ourselves back in the place of being dependent on high priced carbon," Blair said. "We can create a situation that as our economies grow again they can grow in a sustainable way."
But Democrats in Congress are facing determined resistance to the next step on the road to Copenhagen: the passage of legislation to limit and set a price on carbon - in large part because of fears it could put a further drag on the economy.
Blair said he identified with leaders facing the competing pressures of the economic recession and climate change.
"It is not so long that I have been out of office that I don't still understand what it is like to have to take those practical decisions," he said. "It is always more difficult when in a sense you have short term pressures but the challenge is a long term challenge that you know is acute."
He added: "It does require a special kind of leadership."
American CEOs increasingly are coming around in support of such legislation, said John Chambers of Cisco.
However, climate change is a tougher sell for American workers, Jennifer Granholm, the governor of Michigan said. Her state, home of America's crumbling auto industry, has the highest unemployment in the country.
"The only thing to get this passed in the United States is for real people to understand what this means for them," she said. "They don't care so much about carbon emissions or sequestration of gases, they just want to know: 'does this mean that there is a job for me'?"