EU Commissioner Predicts Clean Nations Will Rule Politically

It is time for the U.S. to act or be left behind in tackling climate change, the European Union’s top official on Climate Change strategy said at a Newsmaker March 18, adding that in future energy efficient nations will also rule politically.

European Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard told a Newsmaker press conference that “countries like China, South Korea, Brazil and India are moving and moving very fast towards a low-carbon growth strategy, bringing out the question: Where will the jobs in future will come? Which regions will be leading in this?

“And in the end, we believe in this: Those who will be leading economically will also be leading politically in the world of 21st century. We are going to become 9 billion people on the planet earth by the middle of this century, and those who are energy efficient will also benefit economically,” Hedegaard said.

She said after meeting with senior Obama administration officials -- climate ambassador Todd Stern, White House energy and climate official Carol Browner, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson -- and a few federal lawmakers, she is not optimistic the U.S. will pass a climate bill this year.

"The feeling that I got yesterday was that, well, not too many want to bet on the timing and what could be the outcome," she said.

She said this will undermine international negotiations in the upcoming Mexico meeting.

Given "what we hear coming out of the American discussion, coming out of Beijing, coming out of Delhi, maybe also Mexico ... it would be difficult to get all the details set" for a final, binding accord later this year, she said.

Hedegaard warned that without matching works with words, many countries would lose confidence in Obama administration’s ability to deliver on promises President Obama made at the Copenhagen climate summit in December where he pledged to cut U.S. greenhouse gases 17% from 1990 levels by 2020.

"The rest of the world will judge very carefully whatever comes out of your process," she said.

Asked if the EPA's plans to cut emissions through the Clean Air Act would assure international negotiators, Hedegaard said she didn't believe the agency could achieve the president's 17% target through regulation alone.

Litigation and court challenges would obstruct EPA efforts, creating regulatory uncertainty and immobilizing investment, Hedegaard said.

She reiterated the commitment of the 27 member states of the EU to secure $30 billion in near-term financing for developing countries to help transfer low-emission technologies and to aid adaptation to potential climate change effects.

“It's crucial that money will be on the table (in Mexico), that developed countries will actually deliver this money, and developing countries will see there is actually momentum,” she said. "I got the impression this is a view shared by the administration."