On Superpowers and Climate Change

Since the dawn of the second half of the 20th century the United States has largely maintained its position as the world’s dominant superpower. America has successfully led the charge against the spread of communism, built the most advanced military, put a man on the moon, and accelerated global commerce. We have stood up to numerous challenges in the past and have still managed to come out on the other side as a stronger nation.

The White House at Dusk
Photo:Grufnik, Creative Commons, Flickr

While our status as the planet’s dominant superpower may be slipping in the face of ill-advised Middle Eastern diplomacy, massive budget deficits, and a rapidly slipping greenback, those particular issues are but a mere fraction of our biggest forthcoming challenge — warding off climate change. Indeed, the warming of Mother Earth could very well be the biggest challenge that we have all faced as of yet. Thus far, the U.S. has largely taken a "hands-off" approach to this issue, an approach that will only succeed in further separating us from our superpower status.

The Kyoto Protocol, originated over 10 years ago as a model in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, has thus far provided a framework for the government’s role in addressing this challenge. In 2007, there were some 2.7 billion tons of carbon credits traded, up 80% from the prior year. Approximately 60% of this volume took place in the European Union, under the regions EU Emission Trading Scheme. Since the United States does not have a federally-mandated GHG reduction program in place, it chooses to rely on voluntary GHG reduction initiatives. Trading volume on the Chicago Climate Exchange, the U.S.’s largest voluntary carbon trading platform, doubled last year to approximately 23 million tons. Or, barely 1% of what is represented by our overseas counterparts who are accepting global warming as a serious threat to themselves and everyone around them. Herego, relying on the growth of voluntary markets to address climate change is a surefire way to lose the battle.

In a recent speech in the Rose Garden, President Bush announced the administration’s very first attempts on controlling greenhouse gases, reversing the White House’s long-standing, ambiguous stance on climate change. He mentioned a goal of stopping the growth of GHG emissions by 2025, but did not mention the means of doing so. The President has remained opposed to a program that puts mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions, calling it "unrealistic and economically harmful."

It is gratifying to see the current administration finally take a stand against global warming, though the goals set forth will offer little, if any, relief. The Lieberman-Warner bill that is currently working its way through Congress takes a much tougher stance, calling for a 15% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020 (from today’s levels) and a 62-66% reduction by 2050. This would be accomplished through a mandatory cap-and-trade program, similar to the EU ETS model. The Kyoto Protocol calls for a global reduction in GHG levels of 9% by 2012, compared to 1990 levels. So, when comparing our goals to the bar set by other programs, it is easy to see that we are lagging behind. And being pressured to come up with new ways to reduce our carbon footprint will only spur innovation, which offers economic opportunity, not economic harm.

According to Dictionary.com, the definition of a superpower is "an extremely powerful nation, especially one capable of influencing international events and the acts and policies of less powerful nations." Climate change certainly qualifies as an "international event," and the responsibility of taking the charge against this global phenomenon would no less fall into the hands of the international superpowers. So if we continue to take such a lackadaisical stance on this issue, we are only showing that we are incapable of accomplishing what a superpower should be able to accomplish. And slowly, but surely, we will be stripping ourselves of our superpower status.

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