Obama’s inauguration speech a real source of climate hope

By Nick Rowley on 23 January 2013

But what Obama said was far less significant than his choice of timing and platform. The President knew that important domestic and international audiences would be paying attention.President Obama’s inauguration speech this week presented a source of real hope for all those concerned about global climate change. With eight sentences, he devoted more of his address to this “wicked” problem than any other domestic or foreign policy challenge.

This wasn’t some Washington forum of environmentalists, scientists and business leaders. This was Obama making clear that progress on addressing climate change is going to be a key measure of the success of his second term.

These speeches are as important as any. They set the tone for a presidency and will structure the framework for policy development in the world’s largest economy over the next four years. And a second-term inauguration speech is especially important. It is crafted with an eye to legacy, in the knowledge that the president has fought his last election and there is only so much time to truly achieve ones policy ambition.

Six months before the 2005 British election, I recall standing with a small group of advisers and public servants outside the cabinet room at the back of Downing Street. Prime minister Tony Blair argued to the group that no matter the degree of enthusiasm, ability and commitment in the room, the problem with seeking a third mandate was that little one could say was fresh. When a new issue or approach was put forward, the question in the mind of the electorate was: why hadn’t it been dealt with already?

But the US is different. For a US president who has won a second term there is no “It’s Time” factor to worry about. Obama already knows the date he will be leaving the oval office, and every month, week and day that passes closes the window of opportunity around what he might achieve. Those are the rules: Amendment 22 of the US Constitution effectively creates the constraint to allow for policy innovation.

And notwithstanding the growth of economic and political power in China, India, Brazil and the other rapidly developing economies, it is the United States that still has an unparallelled hold over the world’s imagination. It isn’t that the US perspective on climate change is the key to unlocking global progress on climate change. It is just that we know that without it, progress is a good deal harder.

So what might Obama achieve? Can he achieve anything with the current Congress? What could be his legacy on climate?