An Inauguration Week Climate Warning -- In a New Climate of Hope

In this presidential inauguration week, climatologist and leading NASA scientist James Hansen has six words of advice for Barack Obama about global warming: America must lead. Now. Or else. From his interview with the Guardian, published on January 18:

"We cannot now afford to put off change any longer. We have to get on a new path within this new administration. We have only four years left for Obama to set an example to the rest of the world. America must take the lead."

The message is not new. But the timing is. It was delivered and received in an atmosphere of hope on the climate issue for the first time ever in America.

After years of federal climate inaction and even denial, we can now assume that dire climate warnings will no longer fall on deaf ears in Washington; that America will seize the reigns of global energy and climate leadership; and that maybe the worse won't happen.

We can even see that the nation's needed transition to a clean energy economy has already begun. Have a look at the past few weeks for evidence.

On January 3, Obama pledged to double renewable energy in three years. To jump-start his commitment, he promised a significant clean energy component in the final economic stimulus.

Congress, remarkably, is going along with him.

On January 15, House Democrats released the details of their $825 billion economic stimulus package, tentatively called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. (The House report of the bill can be found here, see chart on page 27 for key energy allocations. Full bill is here).

The 258-page bill is complete with substantial funding -- $54 billion -- for new US-based clean energy and efficiency technologies, on top of billions more for special transportation projects. That's 6.5 percent of the act's total proposed spending and tax cuts -- and about a third of the $150 billion that Obama has pledged to allocate to clean energy over ten years. The breakdown of energy funds follows this post. Here's a summary from the Committee on Appropriations:

Clean, Efficient, American Energy: To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, the bill strengthens efforts directed at doubling renewable energy production and renovates public buildings to make them more energy efficient.

• $32 billion to transform the nation’s energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology.
• $16 billion to repair public housing and make key energy efficiency retrofits.
• $6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes.

(Note: Three powerful House committees -- Appropriations, Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce -- are expected to mark up the stimulus this week. The US Senate is developing its own version of the bill. The Congressional leadership wants a final plan in the president's hands in less than a month.)

Notably, last week also saw Steven Chu -- America's next energy secretary -- firing off this warning at his Senate confirmation hearing (transcript):

"It is now clear that if we continue on our current path, we run the risk of dramatic, disruptive changes to our climate system in the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren."

Meanwhile, soon-to-be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the nation during her confirmation hearing (transcript) that: