Obama pledges urgent action on climate change

US News

Nov 18, 2008, 22:44 GMT

Los Angeles - US president-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged urgent action to implement the climate and clean-energy policies he laid out in his campaign, telling a meeting of state governors that 'delay is no longer an option.' Obama pledged to spend 15 billion dollars a year to help US industry develop clean energy technology and to institute a cap-and- trade system to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. 'This investment will not only help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, making the United States more secure,' Obama said in a prerecorded message to the Bi-Partisan Governors Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles. 'It will also help us transform our industries and steer our country out of this economic crisis.' Obama called the discussions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference next month in Poland 'vital to the planet' and said he would follow the talks closely. In a sharp contrast to the current administration, Obama said the science behind global warming is 'beyond dispute.' 'Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all,' he said. 'Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high, the consequences too serious.' Obama's comments, among his first specific policy statements since he won the November 4 elections, signified the degree of importance he attaches to the issue, analysts said. 'Few challenges facing America and the world are more urgent than combating climate change,' Obama said. 'The science is beyond dispute, and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We've seen record drought, spreading famine, and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season.' Specifically he promised to set 'strong annual targets that set us on a course to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020, and reduce them an additional 80 per cent by 2050.' California approved similar emission reductions in 2006, and Obama commended the state executives, led by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who have been at the forefront of actions to limit climate change. 'Too often, Washington has failed to show the same kind of leadership,' Obama said. 'That will change when I take office. My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs. When I am president, any governor who's willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that's willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that's willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America.' Speaking after Obama's address, Schwarzenegger called for urgent action. 'We have been the biggest polluter in the world,' Schwarzenegger said. 'And it's about time we as a country recognize that.'

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'Barak the Wise' buys into Gore's nonsenseNov 19th, 2008 - 13:06:27

Carbon dioxide is not a polluant and global warming is a myth perpetuated by idiots. Bottom line, these actions envisioned by 'Barak the Wise' will drive up dramatically the cost of energy while producing zero tangible offsetting benefits.

Citizens of the USA, when the increases in the cost of the electricity that you use begin to rip huge holes in your already stretched budget, don't forget to thank Barak and his fellow leftwing loonies.

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Yeah........Nov 19th, 2008 - 21:55:25

Whatever..........

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oh goodNov 19th, 2008 - 23:38:32

more tax cuts for high density developers

I noticed that the toilets are the mall are so small now that you can't even keep from wiping the toilet with your clothes

it's a good analogy

there is no more f-ing room! we are out of space! it is now officailly totally overcrowded and overpopulated!

stop subsidizing the developers and bankers - oh but that is Obama's plan

just when you thought it couldn't get any worse

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Obama pledges urgent action on climate change

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