Thinking Green: WWF's Carter Roberts

This historic day comes at a time when profoundly difficult issues confront our nation and the world, challenging our resolve to make the tough decisions that will provide long-term solutions rather than easy, short-term fixes.

But where others see obstacles, great leaders perceive opportunities. We are confident President-elect Obama will view these challenging times as an opportunity to reverse the ill-chosen policies of the past and chart a new course that will lead America and the world to a healthier, safer, more sustainable and prosperous future.

We look forward to working with the new President and his administration to implement the progressive environmental policies which he championed throughout his campaign—policies that will not only help us avoid catastrophic climate change, but will jumpstart the global economy and restore America’s reputation as a leader in solving the most serious problems confronting our world and future generations.

Our climate is changing far more rapidly than scientists projected, making it imperative that our new President maintains his commitment to policies that will sharply reduce greenhouse gas pollution and help prepare for the impacts of climate change that the world is already experiencing. We hope the President-elect will also send a strong message to the international community that the US is now committed to working closely and cooperatively on this issue and intends to play a leadership role in the upcoming international climate talks in Poznan, Poland

The next administration must address climate change in the context of a broader environmental, economic, and social agenda. We can no longer continue to consume natural resources at a rate that far exceeds the Earth’s regenerative capacity and borrow from the ‘natural capital’ of future generations. We must take a green approach to rebuilding the economy, focusing efforts on developing new energy technologies and promoting energy efficiency.

We hope the Obama Administration will take under strong consideration the need to ensure food security, the availability of freshwater, the sustainable use of the world’s resources, and the creation of economic opportunity that ensures fairness for countries of all economic standing—policies described in detail in WWF’s ‘Greenprint’ for the next administration.

For too long, the world has looked to the US for leadership on the climate crisis, only to be met with shallow excuses and indifference. With today’s historic election, we are optimistic that those days are behind us.