U.S. Climate Policy: Toward a Sensible Center

The Brookings Institution and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change co-hosted a major conference that brought together senators, CEOs, top federal and state officials, and other prominent leaders to debate the future of U.S. policy on climate change.

There is growing recognition in Washington that the climate challenge and proposed policy responses bear directly on critical U.S. interests both at home and abroad. The stakes go well beyond the environment and economy to issues such as energy security and international cooperation. With the fate of international climate efforts in question, and with debate escalating in Congress and state houses over climate and energy policy, there is both the need and the opportunity to break the political logjam and forge a national consensus on U.S. climate policy.

By providing a prominent forum for influential voices from the public and private sectors, this conference aimed to stimulate the kind of discussion and debate needed to produce a responsible, bipartisan U.S. climate policy balancing economic, security, and environmental concerns.

Featured conference speakers included:

• Spencer Abraham, Secretary of Energy
• C. Fred Bergsten, Director, Institute for International Economics
• James L. Connaughton, Chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality
• Representative Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.)
• Donald Kennedy, Editor-in-Chief, Science
• U.S. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.)
• U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.)
• Michael Morris, Chairman, President, and CEO, American Electric Power
• John Rowe, Chairman and CEO, Exelon Corporation
• Larry Schweiger, President & CEO, National Wildlife Federation
• Stephen Timms, Energy Minister, United Kingdom
• James Wolfensohn, President, The World Bank
• R. James Woolsey, Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton