While the environmentalists still believe that Obama is on their side, they also felt that climate change is not his priority.
When President Barack Obama began his second term, he said that he would be tackling climate change because, according to him, "the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations." Four months have passed, and it seems like all of America is still waiting for him to take action on this issue. Politico detailed the story.
Although climate advocates say that they still believe that Obama's heart is in their cause and that they are looking forward for him to use his executive authority to bypass a long-stalemated Congress, they fear that the U.S. president is running out of time. With a multitude of nationwide and global issues seeking the attention of the White House this year-from gun control, sequestration, immigration to Syria and Benghazi, and the IRS-environmental advocates bet that President Obama would not take action any sooner.
David Doniger, climate policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, along with others who follow the issue, says that crafting the complex regulations needed to make a serious dent in carbon pollution could take every moment left in Obama's presidency. He says that "there needs to be a public plan, a schedule [of] what's going to get done and when." Eric Pooley, the senior vice president for strategy and communications of the Environmental Defense Funds, advices Obama to get started because "it's going to be a long conversation."
On the other hand, advocates closest to the administration support Obama's plans on tackling climate change this year. Carol Browner, Obama's former top energy and climate adviser, who is currently a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, pointed out the president's commitment on tackling the issue. Supporters of President Obama have also highlighted the progress that he has made during his first term, including getting the automotive industry to agree to greenhouse gas limits for cars and approving $90 billion in stimulus spending for clean-energy projects.
