Jump-starting “an era of innovation”

President-elect Barack Obama made the long-awaited announcements about his picks to head up his new administration’s energy, environment and climate change programs. His choices indicate that he is poised to take bold strides in addressing climate change in a way that acknowledges the interdependency of the economy and energy choices.

In announcing his choices, Mr. Obama said: “In the next few years, the choices that we make will help determine the kind of country and world that we will leave to our children and our grandchildren.”

Stating that his cabinet choice for Secretary of Energy will send a message about the value of science to the new administration, Mr. Obama announced that Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel-prize winning physicist known for his work on alternative and renewable energy, will help take the lead in making “decisions based on the facts.” Mr. Obama went on to say that “…we understand that facts demand bold action.”

The President-elect also announced the appointments of Lisa Jackson, currently the New Jersey Governor’s chief of staff and long-time climate change expert, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency; Nancy Sutley, former regional EPA administrator and the current deputy mayor for energy and environment in Los Angeles, as head of the Council on Environmental Quality; and Carol Browner, former EPA administrator, as the person who will coordinate energy and climate policy in the White House.

Mr. Obama pointed out that his “green team” represents an expansive breadth of knowledge that comes from years of work on the national, state and municipal level – an understanding that will be invaluable in bringing a host of stakeholders to the energy and climate change policy table. In appointing Sutley and Jackson, the President-elect acknowledged that an important geographically diverse set of perspectives – which will incorporate those that have driven the initiatives taken by states and cities in forging innovative solutions on energy in recent years -- will be brought to the important policy discussions that will begin as soon as Mr. Obama takes office.

Mr. Obama went on to talk about creating a new energy economy, one that will create millions of green jobs and offer energy security, following it up with:

But my hope, more importantly, is not only are we creating jobs through this economic recovery process, what I'm also looking for is the private sector, the financial system to regain confidence and that, through our actions, we're able to jumpstart an era of innovation that leads to competitiveness in the world economy over the long term.”

We salute you in your choices for the leadership on the issues of energy and climate change, Mr. Obama. And we hope that you, with the help of these leaders, will truly make the bold choices that are needed to craft the kind of solutions that will give the country and the world a fighting chance to stop catastrophic climate change. This means having the courage and the political conviction to truly heed the science and to set hard targets for carbon emissions reduction that are in line with the recommendations of the IPCC. This means empowering the EPA to play the leadership role in carbon dioxide pollution regulation. This also means resisting the influence exerted by powerful oil lobbies who will resist the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources that must occur in the coming decades if we are to achieve true energy independence and security.

We’re behind you, Mr. President-elect, as you echo the clarion call that John Kennedy sent to the nation in his “ask not” speech, which appropriately sounds in your words to the present generations:

To control our own destiny, America must develop new forms of energy and new ways of using it. And this is not a challenge for government alone; it's a challenge for all of us.”