A Planned Failure

The chances of the U.S. taking stronger measures to fight climate change are lower than ever.

Climate change has never been a path to success in American politics. This trend will most likely continue in the new year, during which President Barack Obama will try to pass new laws for power plants and companies. The chances of the U.S. taking stronger measures to fight climate change are lower than ever.

The Republican opposition, skeptical of climate change issues, has already realized this. They will do anything to make sure Obama’s new laws fail. Ironically, the topic is even starting to destabilize the Democratic front. Numerous Democratic senators from coal-dependent states will be up for re-election and are therefore indecisive with regard to Obama’s climate change plans.

This is because even the main argument for a stronger fight against climate change in the U.S. is now starting to crumble: Up until now it had been assumed that sooner or later U.S. industry would need a cap and trade system like that of the EU. This would make U.S. companies more adaptable to green technologies and new markets.

However, the less than concrete contents of the recent climate change conferences in Copenhagen and Cancun have made pressures for a U.S. emissions trading system disappear. It will be difficult to near impossible to create a successor to the Kyoto protocol in time, which means that the EU cap and trade system will soon lose its foundation — and therefore lose its function as an example for the United States.