The Obama administration announced without congressional approval Thursday that it was forming a new international coalition overseen by the United Nations, supposedly in an effort to fight “climate change” by regulating certain types of emissions. Dubbed the “Climate and Clean Air Coalition,” the emerging alliance includes the governments ruling Mexico, Bangladesh, Canada, Sweden, and Ghana.
The February 16 announcement was made in Washington, D.C. by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who claimed Benjamin Franklin would somehow be “pleased” about the developments. An assortment of so-called “Environmental Ministers” from other countries, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) boss Lisa Jackson, and UN Environment Program (UNEP) chief Achim Steiner were also present.
UNEP boss Steiner, who will help oversee the daily operations of the new “coalition,” also invoked Franklin — an ardent supporter of liberty — to justify the statist policies being pursued. He said the schemes being undertaken by the budding network of governments were about “framing an environmental sustainability agenda of the 21st century.”
One of his objectives, Steiner added, is “to shorten the time lag between where emerging science is opening our eyes and the policy arena is able to act,” essentially calling for more global regulation based on uncertain and new “science” — a dangerous proposition, according to critics. “Today is a tribute to precisely that.”
Clinton, who was reportedly instrumental in the creation of the new government alliance, was vague in terms of what exactly the purpose of the costly scheme was supposed to be. But she did offer a few platitudes and generalities.
“This coalition – the first international effort of its kind – will conduct a targeted, practical, and highly energetic global campaign to spread solutions,” Clinton explained, noting that tens of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars per year would fund the effort. “It will mobilize resources, assemble political support, help countries develop and implement a national action plan, raise public awareness, and reach out to other countries, companies, [non-governmental organizations] and foundations.”
Clinton opened the meeting by insisting that controversial theories linking “climate change” to human activities were accepted by scientists and that the world needed to do more. She then ran through a list of questionable statistics about the supposed ills of “global warming” and “so-called short-lived pollutants” such as methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons.
“In the past few years, we’ve learned that this group contributes much more to climate change than we previously realized,” Clinton claimed. “More than one-third of current global warming is caused by short-lived pollutants.” She failed to note, however, that official government data show the U.S. has actually been cooling — not warming — for at least a decade.
“The UN Environment Program has determined that reducing these pollutants can slow global warming by up to a half degree Celsius by 2050,” Clinton alleged, failing to note that the UNEP also “determined” in 2005 that there would be some 50 million “climate refugees” by 2010. That did not happen. In fact, the areas that were supposed to be affected actually saw population growth, not “climate refugees,” so the UNEP undertook a half-baked campaign to coverup the scandal.
Clinton then proceeded to praise a “package of 16 major actions” developed by the UNEP to deal with emissions. Among the schemes proposed by the global body were replacing cooking stoves and brick kilns, stopping the burning of agricultural waste, and adopting “emissions standards” for vehicles.
“Now we know, of course, that this effort is not the answer to the climate crisis,” Clinton claimed. “There is no way to effectively address climate change without reducing carbon dioxide, the most dangerous, prevalent, and persistent greenhouse gas.”
While the alleged “dangers” of carbon dioxide are debatable — it is essential to all plant life and a byproduct of human breathing — what is known is that CO2 released by man’s activities represents a tiny fraction of so-called “greenhouse gases” present naturally in the atmosphere. But the Obama administration and the UN claim the gas is dangerous nonetheless.
So, Clinton explained, the Obama administration has been acting “aggressively” across the board to implement UN-backed regulations purportedly aimed at fighting global warming. And the policies will continue from the local to the international level, she said.
As examples of the administration’s efforts so far, Clinton cited new fuel efficiency standards, reductions in the amount of energy used in buildings, regulation of household appliances, and even failed subsidies for “renewable” energy companies such as Solyndra — subsidies currently being investigated by Congress for widespread waste and cronyism. Of course, not one of the measures she mentioned is authorized by the U.S. Constitution, but lawmakers are unlikely to halt funding.
Clinton also praised the other governments sending representatives to the announcement, saying they had made “strong progress.” And the “international community” was to be commended, too, she said, citing accomplishments at the UN “climate” conference in Durban last year — follow ups on establishing a “transparency regime” and a “green climate fund” to redistribute wealth among dictators ruling over poor countries, for example.
The global warming summit — widely ridiculed or ignored around the world — helped lay the foundation for a new global carbon regime as well; a scheme that would apply to the whole global population, Clinton said. But even as senior officials continue to promote global-warming alarmism, the “science” behind the theories is quickly crumbling.
“So we’re working on many fronts individually, through the international track, in smaller, voluntary coalitions like this one,” Clinton said. “But we are excited today, because we think that today’s announcement — if we do everything we want to do and intend to do — will be looked back on in years to come as a real turning point in the fight against the effects of climate change across our globe.”
Other speakers at the announcement largely echoed Clinton’s remarks, patting each other on the back for working to implement new stifling regulations at home and abroad. EPA boss Lisa Jackson seemed particularly enthusiastic, taking the opportunity to tout her expansion of the regulatory regime over Americans while promoting more involvement from women in “environmental” issues.
“As the name of this coalition implies, our focus is to address pollution that accelerates climate change, and our work together will be an important part of the urgent effort to target that challenge and protect our planet," Jackson told the attendees, boasting about spending hundreds of millions of American tax dollars on various initiatives in the U.S. and abroad.
The EPA’s push to regulate carbon dioxide emissions in America was the Obama administration’s response to Congress killing a proposed “cap-and-trade” system and the failure of international treaties. But critics are still hoping to rein in or abolish the agency before its unconstitutional power grabs succeed in further damaging the already-struggling economy.
Swedish Environment Minister Lena Ek, sounding suspiciously like Jackson, said her government looked forward to addressing “gender inequalities” around the world. How “gender” might be related to “climate” was not immediately clear, but the Swedish government has a tendency to make everything related to “gender” somehow.
“It’s a bottom-up approach and a coalition for action, not for talking," Ek said, noting that the first official meeting of the new "coalition" of governments would take place this April in Stockholm. “I want to emphasize that each country participating in this partnership will undertake action at home as well as abroad.”
Finally, Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent explained that the new scheme would eventually help to solidify support for a worldwide climate regime. "This is an important alliance that will serve to reduce emissions, help counter climate change, and work towards delivering a global solution to this global problem," he said, claiming carbon emissions needed to be dealt with as well.
Details about the new alliance and its operations remain sketchy. But based on the official statements about it, the scheme is likely to expand while using tax money to further restrict economic activity and promote climate hysteria at public expense.
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Photo: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announces the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants initiative, Feb. 16, 2012, at the State Department.: AP Images
