What You Should Know About Copenhagen

The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference kicked off yesterday, and here are a few things you should know about this meeting:

• Copenhagen is a chance for world leaders to discuss a global wealth redistribution scheme. As the Washington Post reports, "negotiations center on how to transfer hundreds of billions in cash and technology from rich countries to developing ones." U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer has said that the developed world, including the United States, must commit $10 billion per year, and as much as $100 billion per year in the long run to meet the goals of global warming alarmists.

• President Obama will attend the conference late next week and pledge U.S. participation. When he arrives, President Obama is expected to pledge to the world that the United States will reduce carbon emissions by 17% by 2020, which is the same target set by the Waxman-Markey cap and trade energy tax that passed the House in June. The Kerry-Boxer cap and trade bill, currently stalled in the Senate, has a 20% target, which means even higher costs and more job loss than even what President Obama is pledging on America's behalf.

• The EPA's endangerment finding yesterday gives President Obama an offering to the "global governance" summit in Copenhagen. The EPA's finding paves the way for bureaucratic regulatory measures to reduce carbon emissions in the United States, likely through a command-and-control form of cap and trade. Without the announcement from EPA that carbon dioxide threatens "the public health and welfare of the American people," President Obama would have nothing to offer the world as proof that the U.S. is committed to ruining its economy with an energy tax, and thus would have no cover to lobby the rest of the world to do the same. A cap and trade bill did narrowly pass the House in June, but it has run into mounting opposition in the Senate, as well as Congress's new emphasis on passing a "jobs bill" by Christmas, a tacit admission from the President and other Democrats on Capitol Hill that an energy tax would not create jobs.

• The President would run into serious opposition if he committed America to a binding agreement. Not only would the President face strong opposition from the American public, including American Solutions members, should he try to sign on to a global agreement, he would also face serious criticism from his own party. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) wrote to Obama yesterday that the President does not have unilateral power to commit the United States to any sort of global treaty:

Dear Mr. President:

I would like to express my concern regarding reports that the Administration may believe it has the unilateral power to commit the government of the United States to certain standards that may be agreed upon at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The phrase "politically binding" has been used.

Although details have not been made available, recent statements by Special Envoy on Climate Change Todd Stern indicate that negotiators may be intending to commit the United States to a nationwide emission reduction program. As you well know from your time in the Senate, only specific legislation agreed upon in the Congress, or a treaty ratified by the Senate, could actually create such a commitment on behalf of our country.

I would very much appreciate having this matter clarified in advance of the Copenhagen meetings.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb

United States Senator

• But the conference will likely not produce anything substantive anyway. As the U.K. Telegraph points out, "Many of the participants do not really need to be here. And far from 'saving the world,' the world's leaders have already agreed that this conference will not produce any kind of binding deal, merely an interim statement of intent." Of course, even something as simple as a statement of intent could pave the way to a sovereignty-crushing international energy tax in the near future.

• The estimated cost per delegate is a whopping $14,000. While millions of Americans are out of work or struggling to make ends meet, the global climate crusaders have embarked on a ritzy trip to Copenhagen to discuss how they can achieve a global wealth redistribution scheme that will undoubtedly and disproportionately harm the United States. It is a costly endeavor that could eventually cost Americans even more.

• Attendees are not following their own "green" standards. According to the Telegraph, more than 1,200 limos are being used, and Copenhagen's biggest limousine company is struggling to meet demand. There are some 140 private jets expected during the peak period, which will create such congestion at the airport that many will have to fly to nearby airports and take longer transportation routes to the conference. According to the same story, the total number of hybrids or electric cars used is five.

What is clear about this conference is that it is little more than an expensive charade to pay homage to the cause of global governance. For the United States, it is not only a challenge to our sovereignty, as Senator Webb warned, but also an international discussion about how the United States can commit itself to long-term unemployment and reduced economic competitiveness.