By Steve Thomas, Johnson Controls, Inc.
Former Vice President Al Gore was in Madison, Wisconsin last week to speak at the annual convention of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). His main topic was the need for the US to pass a climate bill, and he implored the Senate to get it done before the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. He asked attendees to get onboard to help drive the Senate to action, saying that to go into Copenhagen without a bill would hamper the ability of the US to help drive negotiations to a productive conclusion – significantly delaying action on global warming.
Gore said he believes we are at a tipping point, that we have reached a critical mass where many people, organizations and business leaders around the world agree that we need to have a successful agreement. As proof of a change of attitude among businesses, Gore cited the high-profile defections from the US Chamber of Commerce in the past few weeks. He also pointed out the full-page advertisements being run in USA Today, The New York Times and The Washington Post by large companies and NGOs calling on the Senate to pass a bill this year.
For the record, Johnson Controls is one of the companies supporting the advertising campaign calling for a clean energy bill this year. We do not belong to the US Chamber of Commerce. And we have signed the Prince of Wales Copenhagen Communique, along with more than 500 other global corporations, in support of an agreement at the UN climate negotiations. Finally, we will be in Copenhagen at the “Bright Green” expo being held in conjunction with the negotiations – and we will have people serving as observers in conjunction with several NGOs that we work with.
While others at the SEJ conference, including members of President Obama’s own staff, were not as optimistic as Gore, I hope that he is right and the others are shown to have been too pessimistic. Having watched this issue for many years, it really seems that there is more support and more urgency than ever before. If we don’t get it done now, when will we?
By Steve Thomas, Johnson Controls, Inc.
Former Vice President Al Gore was in Madison, Wisconsin last week to speak at the annual convention of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). His main topic was the need for the US to pass a climate bill, and he implored the Senate to get it done before the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. He asked attendees to get onboard to help drive the Senate to action, saying that to go into Copenhagen without a bill would hamper the ability of the US to help drive negotiations to a productive conclusion – significantly delaying action on global warming.
Gore said he believes we are at a tipping point, that we have reached a critical mass where many people, organizations and business leaders around the world agree that we need to have a successful agreement. As proof of a change of attitude among businesses, Gore cited the high-profile defections from the US Chamber of Commerce in the past few weeks. He also pointed out the full-page advertisements being run in USA Today, The New York Times and The Washington Post by large companies and NGOs calling on the Senate to pass a bill this year.
For the record, Johnson Controls is one of the companies supporting the advertising campaign calling for a clean energy bill this year. We do not belong to the US Chamber of Commerce. And we have signed the Prince of Wales Copenhagen Communique, along with more than 500 other global corporations, in support of an agreement at the UN climate negotiations. Finally, we will be in Copenhagen at the “Bright Green” expo being held in conjunction with the negotiations – and we will have people serving as observers in conjunction with several NGOs that we work with.
While others at the SEJ conference, including members of President Obama’s own staff, were not as optimistic as Gore, I hope that he is right and the others are shown to have been too pessimistic. Having watched this issue for many years, it really seems that there is more support and more urgency than ever before. If we don’t get it done now, when will we?
Read more at: http://yourenergyforum.com/blog/2009/10/gore_optimistic_on_climate_bil.html.