01/09/06, Max Henninger, Terminator IV: Schwarzenegger vs. Emissions
Post
In seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, California is distancing itself from President George W. Bush's environmental policies. Not a bad strategy for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who faces a re-election bid in the autumn.
[photo AFP, California wants to limit emissions -- like those produced by this city bus in San Diego.]
It had been in the works for months, but finally on late Wednesday afternoon, California Governor Arnold "Terminator" Schwarzenegger reached an agreement with the state's Democratic controlled legislature to curb California's emissions of greenhouse gases. The plan calls for corporations in the state to reduce emissions by 25 percent by 2020, which would bring them down to 1990 levels.
Schwarzenegger's deal represents a break from his Republican Party and from US President George W. Bush's continual refusal to address global warming. The Bush Administration withdrew predecessor Bill Clinton's signature from the Kyoto Protocol and has done nothing to compel American companies to reduce emissions. The United States, while home to just 5 percent of the world's population, emits a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases.
So what does the move mean? German commentators on Friday are, as usual, loathe to wholeheartedly embrace the decision. They raise the question of whether Schwarzenegger can really be believed when he says his promotion of environmental issues shouldn't be interpreted as an attempt to set himself off from the Bush administration. They also ruminate on what they identify as California's penchant for progressive environmentalism.
"People in California have always liked to be a little different," opines the center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. The paper suggests that the "eternal Californian desire for something new" helps explain why Hollywood and Silicon Valley are located where they are, and points out that much of the environmental legislation that exists in the United States today was first introduced in California and then "exported to the east coast." So will the same happen this time? Not likely, the paper concludes. Schwarzenegger's move "distances himself from the president's energy policy." Bush may be claiming that he wants to cure the US "addiction to oil," but that doesn't mean he's turning into an environmentalist, the editorial argues. "Bush is looking for new energy sources, and if the environment benefits, then that's at best a side effect." The conclusion: California remains the exception, and the environmental measures promoted by Schwarzenegger shouldn't be read as a sign that the United States are beginning "to pay their ecological debt in the worldwide struggle for climate protection." Still, it "is a step in the right direction, and it's definitely better than the Bush administration's ignorant policy."
An editorial in the conservative daily Die Welt reminds readers that ecological issues have been important to Schwarzenegger for some time, having already played an important role in his 2003 election campaign. The commentator suggests that Schwarzenegger's promotion of nature reserves and solar energy testify to the earnestness of the Californian governor's concern for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the paper can't help suspecting that this particular piece of legislation has something to do with California gubernatorial elections this fall. Distancing himself from Washington's policies on the environment can only help. "Whoever thinks this piece of legislation is a typical pre-election stunt is right. Schwarzenegger is more likely to distance himself from President Bush than to accept help from Bush if he wants to win the elections in November." Climate protection is the perfect campaign issue, the commentator points out. "A Californian governor is more likely to benefit form his commitment to climate protection than from difficult views on immigration or explosively rising energy costs."
Schwarzenegger's apparent effort to distance himself from Bush is an issue that leftist daily Die Tageszeitung also develops. "Schwarzenegger's Climate Action Isolates Mr. Bush" reads the teaser for the paper's editorial piece on the new Californian legislation. After praising the law as "taking a giant step forward in the struggle to prevent a climate catastrophe," the paper argues that "what Schwarzenegger has started is a climate policy earthquake that is making chairs wobble as far away as Washington." The metaphor is carefully chosen: As the editorial points out, it was another natural catastrophe -- Hurricane Katrina -- that dealt a serious blow to President Bush's credibility, even leading to what the commentator calls "Bush's darkest day as a crisis manager." The editorial suggests it's no accident the Californian legislation should arrive on the exact anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans. The paper notes that "Schwarzenegger is getting plenty of applause. And every clap is a slap in the face for Bush." Die Tageszeitung has long focused on environmental issues and, unlike Süddeutsche Zeitung, points out that California isn't alone in addressing climate change concerns -- New York will likely come on board and more than 200 American mayors have brought their cities in line with Kyoto. "Bush," the editorial concludes almost gleefully, "has never been more isolated."
[photo AFP, California wants to limit emissions -- like those produced by this city bus in San Diego.]
It had been in the works for months, but finally on late Wednesday afternoon, California Governor Arnold "Terminator" Schwarzenegger reached an agreement with the state's Democratic controlled legislature to curb California's emissions of greenhouse gases. The plan calls for corporations in the state to reduce emissions by 25 percent by 2020, which would bring them down to 1990 levels.
Schwarzenegger's deal represents a break from his Republican Party and from US President George W. Bush's continual refusal to address global warming. The Bush Administration withdrew predecessor Bill Clinton's signature from the Kyoto Protocol and has done nothing to compel American companies to reduce emissions. The United States, while home to just 5 percent of the world's population, emits a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases.
So what does the move mean? German commentators on Friday are, as usual, loathe to wholeheartedly embrace the decision. They raise the question of whether Schwarzenegger can really be believed when he says his promotion of environmental issues shouldn't be interpreted as an attempt to set himself off from the Bush administration. They also ruminate on what they identify as California's penchant for progressive environmentalism.
"People in California have always liked to be a little different," opines the center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. The paper suggests that the "eternal Californian desire for something new" helps explain why Hollywood and Silicon Valley are located where they are, and points out that much of the environmental legislation that exists in the United States today was first introduced in California and then "exported to the east coast." So will the same happen this time? Not likely, the paper concludes. Schwarzenegger's move "distances himself from the president's energy policy." Bush may be claiming that he wants to cure the US "addiction to oil," but that doesn't mean he's turning into an environmentalist, the editorial argues. "Bush is looking for new energy sources, and if the environment benefits, then that's at best a side effect." The conclusion: California remains the exception, and the environmental measures promoted by Schwarzenegger shouldn't be read as a sign that the United States are beginning "to pay their ecological debt in the worldwide struggle for climate protection." Still, it "is a step in the right direction, and it's definitely better than the Bush administration's ignorant policy."
An editorial in the conservative daily Die Welt reminds readers that ecological issues have been important to Schwarzenegger for some time, having already played an important role in his 2003 election campaign. The commentator suggests that Schwarzenegger's promotion of nature reserves and solar energy testify to the earnestness of the Californian governor's concern for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the paper can't help suspecting that this particular piece of legislation has something to do with California gubernatorial elections this fall. Distancing himself from Washington's policies on the environment can only help. "Whoever thinks this piece of legislation is a typical pre-election stunt is right. Schwarzenegger is more likely to distance himself from President Bush than to accept help from Bush if he wants to win the elections in November." Climate protection is the perfect campaign issue, the commentator points out. "A Californian governor is more likely to benefit form his commitment to climate protection than from difficult views on immigration or explosively rising energy costs."
Schwarzenegger's apparent effort to distance himself from Bush is an issue that leftist daily Die Tageszeitung also develops. "Schwarzenegger's Climate Action Isolates Mr. Bush" reads the teaser for the paper's editorial piece on the new Californian legislation. After praising the law as "taking a giant step forward in the struggle to prevent a climate catastrophe," the paper argues that "what Schwarzenegger has started is a climate policy earthquake that is making chairs wobble as far away as Washington." The metaphor is carefully chosen: As the editorial points out, it was another natural catastrophe -- Hurricane Katrina -- that dealt a serious blow to President Bush's credibility, even leading to what the commentator calls "Bush's darkest day as a crisis manager." The editorial suggests it's no accident the Californian legislation should arrive on the exact anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans. The paper notes that "Schwarzenegger is getting plenty of applause. And every clap is a slap in the face for Bush." Die Tageszeitung has long focused on environmental issues and, unlike Süddeutsche Zeitung, points out that California isn't alone in addressing climate change concerns -- New York will likely come on board and more than 200 American mayors have brought their cities in line with Kyoto. "Bush," the editorial concludes almost gleefully, "has never been more isolated."
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