Hardly Any Members Of Congress Will Attend Cancun: CFR Representative - "Fine." NYT

[hatrack]

EDIT

From "the House is in session" to "I haven't thought about it," Republicans and Democrats alike have excuses aplenty for skipping the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change talks. The conference opened yesterday and goes through Dec. 10. The apathy is palpable, and a far cry from the atmosphere last year when President Obama and the leaders of more than 100 other nations descended in droves upon the chilly Danish capital of Copenhagen to hawk their views at the climate circus. That conference saw U.S. congressional champions of cap-and-trade legislation as well as skeptics jostling to share their views on the prospects for American domestic action and a new international treaty.

"Cancun? For what?" Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) asked warily yesterday when questioned about his plans. Informed that the spring break hot spot was actually the site of an international effort to cut carbon emissions, Coburn was dismissive. "No. I don't usually go to anything. That's a good enough reason," he said. "We got bigger problems than climate right now. It's called finance, how we get out of the hole we're in."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who supported climate legislation last year, admitted that the global negotiations didn't make a bleep on her radar. "I haven't really thought about it, to be honest with you," she said. But Feinstein denied that was because of the unpopularity of climate change these says.

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Michael Levi, an energy and environment fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the lack of congressional attention is "fine." "The American people hate Congress right now. No one wants to send their staff to the beach in Mexico. It's completely understandable, and it's not going to do damage to U.S. policy or to the talks," he said.

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http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/12/01/01climatewire-diplomats-head-to-sunny-cancun-but-us-lawmak-61841.html?ref=earth

[XemaSab]

1. They didn't make a bleep on her radar?

Well *&^%.

[crikkett]

2. Yep, my california senator doesn't have climate issues on her radar n/t

[txlibdem]

3. The conference will be much better off without US congress critters' participation

The only thing US participation would do is gum up the works and cause dissension or put a halt to all progress, just as we did the last climate conference.