That’s what the President of the United States called climate change today at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.  With Chancellor Angela Merkel on the podium beside him, he said: “The effort to slow climate change requires bold action.  And on this, Germany and Europe have led.”  Truer words were never said.  “Our dangerous carbon emissions have come down.  But we know we have to do more — and we will do more.”  President Obama was referring to the US here in his speech.

Underscoring his strong statements, Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, was at a conference in Washington, also today, in which she hinted at a package of initiatives that are forthcoming from the White House.  These may well include rules on power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, the biggest source of America’s greenhouse gas emissions.  She said that “new policy initiatives” would be forthcoming soon.

In spite of what Obama skeptics like Joe Romm think, the administration has had, in my view, an excellent record, and we’ve been getting stronger and stronger signals from the White House in recent months, going back to his second inaugural address to his selection of the climate hawk, John Kerry, to be Secretary of State, to his speech today.  I’m really looking forward to the rollout of the new initiatives.