CNBC Business | How green is the White House?

How green is the White House?

The election of Barack Obama promises a new era of eco-awareness in the US, says Sarah Wachter

These are heady times for environmentalists in America. The initial euphoria of Barack Obama’s White House win hasn’t worn off yet. They say he is the American president with the most clearly-enunciated environmental platform of any in recent memory. Even though the financial crisis has taken centre stage, environmentalists think that’s good news, too, since Obama is talking about creating millions of green jobs to kickstart the spluttering US economy.

“Right now it looks like environment policy is a high priority,” says Bob Bendick, director of government affairs for the Nature Conservancy. “Climate change, the environment, and the health of the planet are interrelated with human welfare and the economy.” 

During his acceptance speech, Obama called out to “build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and  nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease.” 

Indeed, environmentalists point out the four priorities for the new administration will be clean energy and green jobs, the economy, healthcare, and the war in Iraq. 

Obama has recently stated that he wants to make the US a leader on climate change. The main green elements of the Obama-Biden ‘new energy for America’ plan are: investing $150bn (€120bn) over 10 years to create five million green jobs, by stimulating private sector efforts on clean energy (a portion of this will be set aside to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles), with an accent on affordable sources, such as wind and solar power; putting a million plug-in hybrid cars (cars that have batteries which can be recharged, and both an electric motor and a backup internal combustion engine) on the road by 2015; implementing a nationwide cap-and-trade program to slash carbon emissions 80% by 2050; generating 25% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025; and increasing fuel efficiency standards for vehicles by 4% a year. Environmentalists also expect Obama will push for higher air quality standards by enforcing the Clean Air Act, something the previous administration didn’t do. 

It should also be remembered that among Obama’s two strongest sources of support for the election were the US alternative energy community and the environmentally hip 18- to 29-year-olds, who went to the polls in numbers not seen in a generation to cast their vote for him. 

As we went to press, Obama had yet to name any permanent members of his environment team. But environment experts gave high marks to Obama’s transition team on green affairs – said to be very diverse and probably the largest ever assembled by a president elect.

“Every one of the members of his environment transition team has a long history of work in and out of the government on environmental protection and conservation,” Bendick says. Requests to interview several members of the transition team were declined or went unanswered. 

The team includes a number of heavyweights, including Carol Browner, an administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton administration; Frank Loy, a senior negotiator under the Kyoto Protocol also during the Clinton years; former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle; and David Hayes, deputy secretary of the interior under Clinton. Jason Grumet, who runs the Bipartisan Policy Centre, a well-respected new voice on energy, who advised Obama during the campaign, is being talked about for a potential post as a climate change czar.  

We will see changes soon, experts say. “The most noticeable and quickest difference of Obama versus Bush is on global warming,” said Jake Schmidt, international climate policy director at the Natural Resources Defence Council. “Obama understands it is an important issue in an international context. His interest is more than just symbolic – it’s heartfelt. His team is now talking and putting forward ideas. They see its seriousness.” 

Although as president elect he wasn’t able to attend Poznan, Poland, for the 14th United Nations Conference of the Parties, Obama took a keen interest. It is one of the important preparatory meetings in the run-up to the 15th COP in Copenhagen in December, where it is widely expected a global framework agreement on climate change will be struck.  

Obama has signalled that, in global climate negotiations, he expects developing countries to follow close behind developed countries in their emission-reduction ambitions, and that he is willing to provide technical assistance to emerging countries for deployment of clean technology. What is more, he has said that deforestation must be included in any climate change strategy.  

But environmentalists say the first order of business for Obama is stateside, not worldwide. “We will get our climate change house in order here and use it as a platform in international climate negotiations,” Bendick says. Environmentalists hope  Obama will submit a climate change bill to Congress within his first 100 days in office, and that he will rapidly follow up on his call for a full auction of carbon-emitting rights. Best estimates put the annual revenues likely to be generated for the federal government as high as $300bn. 

Despite the intense pressure on an incoming administration as the financial crisis takes a huge toll on the US, environmentalists say Obama understands that bail-outs for financial institutions and the auto industry must be attached to sound environmental actions. Indeed as Obama was spelling out his plans for the biggest infrastructure investment in the US for half a century, the crippled auto industry was asking for $15bn in loans just to survive the next three months. Insolvency would cost three million automotive jobs. 

“The transition teams working for Obama are very aware of the interconnected nature of all these issues,” said Fred Anderson, an environment lawyer with McKenna, Long and Aldridge in Washington DC. “Might not Congress or the new administration ask for the auto industry to meet milestones on gas mileage and expanding a hybrid fleet, or require mortgages on homes that have better insulation and modern thermostats?”  he wonders.  

But environmentalists also admit the pressure will be great on Obama, who is assuming office during the worst financial crisis the  US has seen since the 1930s. Not to mention that Obama comes from a state in the corn belt and could see intense lobbying to continue subsidies on corn ethanol, which has largely been proven to be an expensive and energy-intensive way to produce supposedly green energy.  