Green Options

The Copenhagen agreement fizzled, but failure to take global action on climate change may have greased the skids for transition from the post-9/11 epoch into a new global Eco Cold War.

Fourteen of the world’s largest cities agreed to take steps over the coming year to make their cities more electric vehicle-friendly. The announcement was made at the ‘Climate Summit for Mayors’, which is being held alongside the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Half the world’s population lives in cities that account for more than two-thirds of carbon emissions. And as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made the case in Copenhagen on Tuesday at the Climate Summit for Mayors during the UN COP15 climate summit cities and other sub-national units of government will play a critical role in implementing the kind of innovative solutions necessary to clean up our transportation infrastructure in a carbon-constrained world. In that vein, a group of fourteen of the world’s largest cities took a step in that direction in Copenhagen on Wednesday.

A new Zogby poll shows that those who are least able to afford rising energy pricesare the most likely to support climate and energy policies that would have that effect.

Climategate’s questions recede as island nations walk out. China sizzles and the US fizzles on world stage. What are the political takeaways from week one in Copenhagen and what does it mean for the possibility of a binding agreement?

Climategate may give skeptics some ammunition, but those skeptics will not be at the table in Copenhagen. Still, with China and India eyeing growth and the rest of the world cautious on the cost of carbon capping, these are the three factors that will result in something rotten from Denmark.

After playing leader in global climate change negotiations, United States is now under pressure to respond to India and China’s announcements of mitigation measures.