Today’s Washington Post points out that President Obama has broad support for his energy reform measures. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, about 60 percent support the legislation in Congress; 58 percent even said they would support legislation if it came with a slight cost increase per month. Meanwhile, 55 percent support the way that the President is handling the issue.
Moreover, even as business groups and “energy citizen” brigades rally in opposition to energy reform, the poll showed that many did not buy into fearmongering that energy reform would come with high costs and lead to increased job losses.
These numbers are also significant as today marks 100 days until the climate conference in Copenhagen. The top United Nations climate change official has warned that developed nations need to make strong commitments prior to Copenhagen in order to reach agreement on a treaty. Recently, Switzerland, Mexico, and South Korea announced emissions reduction goals and France has proposed a carbon tax. Having U.S. legislation in place before the conference will go a long way towards increasing American leverage at the conference. As the American Clean Energy and Security Act faces a challenge in the Senate, sustained public support for the effort would help increase momentum to push a climate bill through, and help advance our goals both on the domestic and international front.
I’d be happy to post the comment, but is there anyway you could write it out in English?