A New Political Climate for Global Warming

Global warming is now a key issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, sparking a larger debate about energy use and provoking policy prescriptions ranging from diplomacy to conservation to investing in research and harnessing market forces. On May 22, the Opportunity 08 project at the Brookings Institution hosts veteran campaign policy advisors in its second forum on the nation’s most pressing policy challenges.

Participants included John Raidt, long-time advisor to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.); Denis McDonough, policy advisor for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.); James Kvaal, policy director for former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.); and Todd Stern, policy advisor for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). They examined how the issues of global warming, energy security and the environment can-and should-affect the 2008 election. Rick Klein, senior political reporter and author of ABC’s “The Note,” will moderate the discussion.

The event  also included Brookings Managing Director William Antholis, an expert on the international politics of climate change; David Sandalow, Brookings Energy & Environment Scholar; and Gregg Easterbrook, a visiting fellow at Brookings.

Opportunity 08 aims to help presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation, providing ideas, policy forums, and information on a broad range of domestic and foreign policy questions.