Subject: MUST READ: Talking Points Memo: Hillary 2016 Group Talks Up Climate Change Record Ahead Of Speech
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 09:54:27 -0400
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

Today, Dylan Scott published a piece in Talking
Points Memo highlighting Correct The Record's most recent analysis of
Secretary Clinton's work on climate change. Read this great piece below,
and see our full record analysis below that.

*Talking Points Memo: Hillary 2016 Group Talks Up Climate Change Record
Ahead Of Speech
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/hillary-clinton-climate-change-correct-the-record>*

By Dylan Scott

August 29, 2014, 9:06 a.m. EDT

In anticipation of an upcoming Hillary Clinton speech on clean energy, one
of the groups laying the groundwork for her presumed 2016 presidential
campaign is talking up the former Secretary of State's record on climate
change.

Clinton is scheduled to give the keynote address at the National Clean
Energy Summit this Thursday in Las Vegas. Correct the Record, the rapid
response outfit in the proto-Hillary 2016 campaign infrastructure, shared
with TPM new talking points detailing her record on climate change at the
State Department.

The group has been regularly releasing reports outlining Clinton's record
on various issues, from LGBT rights to income equality, for months. They
are part of the group's overall mission of greasing the wheels for
Clinton's various public appearances and putting a positive spin on her
past work -- all in the context of an anticipated 2016 run.

“Hillary Clinton looked to the future, planning for our generation and the
next generation of Americans when she prioritized the fight against climate
change as a matter of foreign policy," Adrienne Elrod, communications
director at Correct the Record, told TPM in a statement. "Clinton led the
way through partnerships and developed incentives to encourage cooperation
and progress toward reducing our footprint on the environment.”

Correct the Record credited Clinton with changing the way the United States
approached climate change, pointing to her establishment of a special envoy
for climate change within the State Department, which it called the Obama
administration's point person for climate negotiations, and to the creation
of a new Bureau of Energy Resources, which Clinton had said would be
devoted to tracking worldwide energy use.

Other points of emphasis for Correct the Record were an agreement with
Brazil to improve bilateral coordination on climate change and the Climate
and Clear Air Coalition, a group of 37 countries that is working to reduce
methane emissions, per the pro-Clinton outfit.

The group also singled out one of Clinton's favorite anecdotes on the
subject, which she included in her recent book, "Hard Choices": The time
that she and President Barack Obama forced their way into a 2009 meeting in
Copenhagan between leaders from China, India, Brazil and South Africa so
that they could talk about the Kyoto Protocol.

The meeting led to a non-binding agreement that all developed countries
would set 2020 goals for cutting their carbon emissions. The United Nations
later said that the goals set in the so-called Copenhagen Accord were
insufficient, though they were considered "an important step toward the
objective of limiting growth of emissions" in the words of an U.N. official.

The Thursday speech is one of the first forums for Clinton to talk
extensively about climate change as the 2016 speculation has kicked into
full gear. She has, however, continued to addressed it with regularity
during her frequent speaking engagements.

In March, according to the Associated Press, she said climate change was
"not just some ancillary issue," but one that required "mass movement."

"I’m hoping that there will be this mass movement that demands political
change," she said, "and it becomes just as powerful as some of the other
issues that effect the outcome of elections here and around the world.”

*STEMMING THE TIDE OF CLIMATE CHANGE*

*As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton spearheaded global action to fight
climate change, building international partnerships to counter its threat.
Sec. Clinton worked actively to protect the planet and its inhabitants by
making climate change a **priority*
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2009a/04/122240.htm>* in
U.S. foreign policy and built partnerships to mobilize the international
community to**mitigate*
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/opinion/15iht-edclinton.html?_r=3&ref=global&>*
climate
change and its adverse effects. Recognizing the clear and present danger of
climate change, Sec. Clinton emphasized the need for **American leadership*
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2009a/01/115409.htm>* in
tackling this ever-growing global issue.*
MADE CLIMATE CHANGE AN AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITY

Sec. Clinton changed the way the U.S. approached climate change. According
to the New York Times,“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wrapped up
her first diplomatic mission to Asia yesterday with climate change experts
praising her for putting global warming at the center of U.S. foreign
policy… Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
and co-author of a new blueprint on how to bring China and the United
States into cooperation on climate change, said he thinks Clinton sent a
powerful signal that was ‘fundamentally different’ from the one sent by the
Bush administration over the past eight years. He noted that Clinton chose
[Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd] Stern as her travel companion — and
not a Treasury Department official, a nonproliferation expert or an envoy
on any number of other top-tier foreign policy issues. ‘Climate change is
one of these existential threats that the U.S. and other countries face,
and we do not have the luxury of procrastinating anymore. I think that’s
the message that Hillary Clinton brought to China,’ Lieberthal said. ‘She’s
saying, “We have changed the U.S. approach to this in a huge way. We want
you to know that, and we want you to know the door is wide open for serious
communication,’” he said.” [New York Times,2/23/09
<http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/02/23/23climatewire-clinton-puts-climate-change-high-on-the-agend-9802.html>
]

Sec. Clinton appointed a Special Envoy for Climate Change to “serve as a
principal advisor on international climate policy and strategy.” According
to Sec. Clinton’s remarks announcing the appointment of Todd Stern as
Special Envoy for Climate Change, “The Special Envoy will serve as a
principal advisor on international climate policy and strategy. He will be
the Administration’s chief climate negotiator. He will be leading our
efforts with United Nations negotiations and processes involving a smaller
set of countries and bilateral sessions. Because the main cause of climate
change is the burning of fossil fuel and because the solution rests with
our ability to shift the global economy from a high to a low carbon energy
base, the Envoy will be a lead participant in the development of climate
and clean energy policy. He will participate in all energy-related policy
discussions that, across our government, can have an impact on carbon
emissions, and will be looking for opportunities to forge working
alliances.” [Remarks Announcing the Appointment of Special Envoy for
Climate Change Todd Stern, state.gov, 1/26/09
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2009a/01/115409.htm>]

Sec. Clinton established the Bureau of Energy Resources because “how the
world uses energy is a key factor” to addressing the threat of climate
change. According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks on delivering on the promise of
economic statecraft, “Next, on energy. We know energy can be a source of
healthy competition, with countries racing to develop new technologies and
renewables. But it can also be a source of conflict, fueling corruption and
instability. And how the world uses energy is a key factor as to whether we
will finally address the threat of climate change. So we have created at
the State Department a new Bureau of Energy Resources, and made this issue
a priority in our diplomacy.” [Remarks on Delivering on the Promise of
Economic Statecraft, state.gov, 11/17/12
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2012/11/200664.htm>]

Sec. Clinton viewed U.S. leadership on climate change as both “a
responsibility we should accept and an opportunity we should seize.” In her
book* Hard Choices*,Secretary Clinton wrote, “In our meeting in Copenhagen,
the Prime Minister of Ethiopia told me that the world was looking to the
United States to lead the way on climate change. I believe this is both a
responsibility we should accept and an opportunity we should seize. After
all, we’re still the largest economy and the second-largest emitter of
carbon dioxide. The more serious the effects of climate change, the more
important it will be for us to lead.” [*Hard Choices*, pg. 504, 2014]
ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Sec. Clinton expanded U.S. efforts to assist developing countries hit
hardest by climate change. In her remarks on the Energy and Climate
Partnership of the Americas, Sec. Clinton said, “A year ago, President
Obama proposed this partnership as a forum for sharing ideas and devising
solutions. And through consultation with many of the countries here today,
we identified five critical areas of engagement: energy efficiency,
renewable energy, cleaner fossil fuels, energy poverty, and infrastructure.
And today, I propose we add two new areas to help advance the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change and to be prepared for the next conference in
Cancun. Those are: sustainable forestry and land use, and adaptation to
assist developing countries that have been and are being hardest hit by
climate change.” [Remarks on the Energy and Climate Partnership of the
Americas, state.gov, 4/15/10
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2010/04/140286.htm>]

Sec. Clinton launched the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, which has 37
countries working to reduce methane emissions. In her book* Hard
Choices*,Secretary
Clinton wrote, “I held an event at the State Department with the
Environmental Ministers from Bangladesh, Canada, Mexico, and Sweden, the
Ambassador from Ghana, and the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, to launch the Climate and Clean Air
Coalition. In 2014, there are thirty-seven country partners and forty-four
nonstate partners, and the Coalition is making important strides toward
reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production and black carbon
from diesel fumes and other sources.” [*Hard Choices*, pg. 501, 2014]

Sec. Clinton launched the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves to negate
the “serious health risks” of dirty cookstoves and to reduce their
contribution to climate change. According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks on the
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, “The World Health Organization
considers smoke from dirty stoves to be one of the five most serious health
risks that face people in poor, developing countries. Nearly 2 million
people die from its effects each year, more than twice the number from
malaria. And because the smoke contains greenhouse gasses such as carbon
dioxide and methane, as well as black carbon, it contributes to climate
change. […] I know that maybe this sounds hard to believe, but by upgrading
these stoves, millions of lives could be saved and improved. This could be
as transformative as bed nets or even vaccines. So today, I am very pleased
to announce the creation of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.”
[Remarks on the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, state.gov, 9/21/10
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2010/09/147500.htm>]

Sec. Clinton helped drive an unprecedented deal between major economies,
developed and developing, to curb carbon emissions. According to Foreign
Affairs, “Obama and Clinton barged into a meeting at the 2009 global
climate change talks in Copenhagen and forced the Chinese president to
agree to a nonbinding pact under which rich and poor countries alike
pledged to curb their carbon emissions.” In her book* Hard Choices*,Secretary
Clinton wrote, “Sitting [in Copenhagen] next to President Obama in the
small leaders’ meeting he and I had just forced our way into, I hoped that
we might finally be getting somewhere. I looked across the table at Wen
Jiabao, then at the leaders of India, Brazil, and South Africa. […] In the
end, after lots of cajoling, debating, and compromising, the leaders in
that room fashioned a deal that, while far from perfect, saved the summit
from failure and put us on the road to future progress. For the first time
all major economies, developed and developing alike, agreed to make
national commitments to curb carbon emissions through 2020 and report
transparently on their mitigation efforts. The world began moving away from
the division between developed and developing countries that had defined
the Kyoto agreement.” [Foreign Affairs,May/June 2013
<http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139110/michael-hirsh/the-clinton-legacy>
; *Hard Choices*, pg. 499, 2014]

Sec. Clinton signed an agreement with Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso
Amorim to “strengthen bilateral cooperation” on climate change
efforts. According
to a State Department fact sheet, “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim today signed a
‘Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Regarding Climate Change’ that
will strengthen bilateral cooperation between the United States and Brazil
as we work to meet the global climate and clean energy challenge. This
Memorandum of Understanding launches a new ‘Climate Change Policy Dialogue’
to discuss key issues, including: The implementation of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and ways to build on the Copenhagen
Accord as quickly as possible; Strategies for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions; Joint efforts on research, development, deployment and
dissemination of clean energy technologies; Adaptation; Cooperation on
climate change scientific research; and Capacity-building in sectors
related to climate change.” [Announcement of Increased Cooperation on
Climate Change, state.gov, 3/3/10
<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/03/137723.htm>]
URGED GLOBAL COOPERATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

Sec. Clinton called for a cooperative international effort to implement
climate change action plans “in individual countries, in regions and
globally.” According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks at the Major Economies Forum
on Energy and Climate, “All of us participating today must cooperate in
developing meaningful proposals to move the process forward. New policy and
new technologies are needed to resolve this crisis, and they won’t
materialize by themselves. They will happen because we will set forth an
action plan in individual countries, in regions, and globally. It took a
lot of work by a lot of people to create the problem of climate change over
the last centuries. And it will take our very best efforts to counter it.”
[Remarks at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, state.gov,
4/27/09
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2009a/04/122240.htm>]

Sec. Clinton: “No solution” to the climate problem “is feasible without all
major emitting nations joining together and playing an important
part.” According
to Sec. Clinton’s remarks announcing the appointment of Todd Stern as
Special Envoy for Climate Change, “As the President has made clear, he is
committed to enacting a far-reaching new energy and climate plan. As we
take steps at home, we will also vigorously pursue negotiations, those
sponsored by the United Nations and those at the sub-global, regional, and
bilateral level that can lead to binding international climate agreements.
No solution is feasible without all major emitting nations joining together
and playing an important part.” [Remarks Announcing the Appointment of
Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern, state.gov, 1/26/09
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2009a/01/115409.htm>]