Politics | Grist

how will senators vote on a climate bill?

Al Franken (D-Minn.) 3
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago Sen. Al Franken told a Grist reader he supports “comprehensive energy legislation,” but he's worried about losing manufacturing jobs.
perfect attendance

Merkel decides to attend Copenhagen climate summit 0
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago By Agence France-Presse German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to attend the Copenhagen climate conference after leaders including President Obama buried hopes of a binding deal, her spokesman said Monday.
Environment ministers meet to prepare climate summit 0
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago By Agence France-Presse Environment ministers from 44 key countries gathered in Copenhagen on Monday for a two-day closed-door meeting aimed at preventing embarrassing failure at next month's U.N. conference on global warming.
Extending the runway

Delaying an international climate treaty: not as bad as it looks 27
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago By David Roberts The big news this weekend was that a coalition of world leaders made it official: there will be no full-fledged, legally binding agreement out of the Copenhagen climate talks. Instead there will be what's being called a politically binding agreement, pledging to work out a full agreement in 2010 -- "one agreement, two steps." This was Denmark PM (and Copenhagen host) Lars Lokke Rasmussen's way of salvaging a half-win from what was threatening to be a total loss. Of course opponents of climate action are portraying it as a disaster that augers the death of UNFCCC process; they do that with every setback or delay. Climate activists don't seem to have decided quite yet what to think about it. My take: it's not as bad as it looks.
One reason Congress might consider scrapping the filibuster 9
Posted 1 week, 6 days ago By David Roberts Lester Brown came to our office today and had a nice chat with us Gristers. (Have you watched my diavlog with Brown? It's must-see tv!) The guy is wicked smart. One thing from our chat jumped out at me.
Looks like the European Trading System has worked after all

Europe to easily beat Kyoto target 1
Posted 1 week, 6 days ago By Joseph Romm Europe made a major commitment under the Kyoto Protocol that U.S. conservatives have been telling us for years it would never achieve. In fact, the Europeans are poised to surpass their targets under the terms of the Protocol. It is no longer plausible for those who don’t want a U.S. cap-and-trade system to point to the European Trading System (ETS) as a failure. Quite the reverse.
Outdoor Industry CEOs Weigh in on Climate

The North Face, Aspen, and climate policy 0
Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago By Auden Schendler When North Faces start melting, and Aspens start dying, it gets the attention of two CEOs from namesake companies. The CEOs of The North Face and Aspen Skiing Company weigh in on the urgency of climate policy action.
Listen and learn

How carbon markets work in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative 0
Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago By Eric de Place With all the hand-wringing over the alleged risk of market manipulation in cap-and-trade, you'd almost forget that the United States already has a carbon cap-and-trade program up and running. But it does.
how will key senators vote on a climate bill?

Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) [UPDATED] 5
Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago “I don’t see any climate bill on the table right now that I can support," Sen. Richard Lugar said on Nov. 10, dashing any hopes that he might get behind some version of the Kerry-Boxer legislation that's moving through the Senate. "We really have to start from scratch again."
Wyoming uber alles

How 7.4% of Americans can block humanity’s efforts to save itself 9
Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago By David Roberts A couple weeks ago I wrote a piece on what's really killing climate legislation: the absurd procedural chokepoints in the U.S. Senate, coupled with an unprincipled minority devoted to obstruction. I'm happy to report there's been an uptick lately in people trying to draw attention to this problem. One thing to add to the discussion is that it will take 67 U.S. senators to ratify an international treaty out of Copenhagen. That means representatives of a tiny minority in America can scuttle the entire undertaking.