Kerry to deniers: Prove us wrong or stand down

Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a meeting with Senator John Kerry who you will remember as the Democratic Presidental candidate in 2004 that just barely lost to George W. Bush the second time. While that campaign certainly had its ups and downs, Senator Kerry is often an excellent speaker and this was no different. He came to give us an update of the U.S. climate change legislation that is sitting in the senate and what he expects to happen with it. His words were extremely encouraging – he strongly believes that strong climate change legislation will make it through the senate by the midpoint of 2010. He is also optimistic that the framework for a global deal can be set here.

Kerry stresses that ‘no country individually, and none of us collectively are doing enough’. In terms of insights for why the remaining days of the conference are so important, Kerry stresses that it is ‘crucial that we get started’. There has been enough talk – from Rio to Kyoto to Copenhagen and everything in between. The evidence is there, the talk is there, but it is time for action. Copenhagen will likely not result in a legally binding agreement, but it is important that the groundwork is put down and countries get to work. Outside of just legally binding targets, ‘Climate finance must be resolved in the negotiations this week’, insisted Kerry. He pushed for help with technology to the developing world so that their development will not follow the same model as that of the West (one based on burning of fossil fuels).

Perhaps one of the most hard hitting points of the speech was when Senator Kerry addressed the climate change deniers with a simple ultimatum: ‘Prove us wrong, or step down’. Not enough politicians are addressing the skeptics in this way and thus the messages continue to get muddled. The general public is not aware that there is not one single peer-reviewed study in the entire world that disproves the science of anthropogenic climate change, and it is time that these messages are spoken loud and clear from our politicians.

After the speech was complete, Senator Kerry took a couple questions on Senator Inhofe’s pessimism about the bill. Ashley was up there scrumming with the international media like a pro journalist and got some great coverage as a result. We are perhaps a bit pessimistic about the point that nobody has to change their lifestyle – we certainly think that there will have to be some belt-tightening. However we do agree that a climate change deal will actually allow less belt-tightening than if we continue to rely on increasingly expensive fossil fuels.

We have the entire speech on video and highly encourage you to watch it on our blog. It totals about a half an hour in length but is rich with content and information. The United States government is perhaps the most important in the world to reaching a climate change solution. In addition, Canada is sitting back and waiting for U.S. legislation. Thus, this speech is of added importance to us.