Jeremy Jacquot: How Biden's Foreign Policy Experience Supplements Obama's Climate Policy

...Though it may not seem obvious at first blush, Biden may end up proving most valuable to Obama in lending his foreign policy chops to tackle climate change.

Think about it: As things stand, the single biggest obstacle to effective climate change mitigation is the lack of a comprehensive, international accord. Though we largely have the Bush administration to "thank" for the current impasse, we shouldn't be deluded into thinking that simply getting rid of Dubya and his skeptic cronies will solve our problems. We still face the seemingly intractable problem of bringing developing countries like India and China -- the latter of which has already surpassed the U.S. in emission production -- on board.

Although their leaders recognize that climate change could have catastrophic consequences, they are still much too focused on raising the standard of living for their people and are willing to rely on dirty fossil fuels to meet their objectives. They also object to any treaty that would impose a large burden on their economies, arguing, with some validity, that the developed world, which has been burning coal and gasoline for decades to build their infrastructures, should assume the brunt of the emission cuts.
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With climate change increasingly being portrayed as not only an environmental crisis, but one with critical national security implications, Biden, who has considerable experience in this area, would be an effective advocate for a policy aimed at tackling these emerging threats. As record floods, storms, droughts and other problems become more prevalent over the coming years, the diplomatic role a Vice President Biden would play in mediating international agreements will only become more important.