Here Comes the Climate Czarina - Chris Horner - Planet Gore on National Review Online

I read that former Clinton-Gore EPA administrator Carol Browner “is likely to be picked by President-elect Barack Obama to take on a newly created position overseeing energy, climate and environmental issues, Democratic aides said.” This is a soft-peddling of the much-touted “climate czar” position (perhaps Czarina didn’t sound too good, all things considered about the candidate).

Since leaving government she has been making money with Madeleine’s Albright Group, which boasts that “She also serves on the board of several non-profit organizations, including as chair of the National Audubon Society, one of the nation’s oldest environmental organizations, and as a member of the Board of the Directors for the Center for American Progress, the Alliance for Climate Protection and the League of Conservation voters.”

ABC News: Obama Ally Wants Delay in Cap-and-Trade

'We Can't Kill the Business Climate,' Says Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D)
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One of Barack Obama's closest allies in the Senate said Tuesday that she hopes the economic downturn can induce the incoming president to delay the centerpiece of his plan for reducing carbon emissions.
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She also criticized the logrolling that took place in June when the Senate considered Boxer's cap-and-trade proposal.

Boxer's legislation would have raised an estimated $3.4 trillion in federal revenue over the next four decades. To build support for the cap-and-trade proposal, its backers promised to allocate anticipated proceeds from the auction on legislators' preferred causes.

"I'm not big on buying people off," said McCaskill. "As a former auditor, that makes chills run up my spine."

Prometheus » Blog Archive » Pachauri — The IPCC Is Impermeable to New Science

I presume it is safe now to conclude that the science is indeed settled, if it is indeed the case that a few new research papers have no chance of changing the conclusions of the IPCC. Even if Pachauri was talking about the work from those skeptical of the IPCC consensus, his statement that no new research papers can alter his views is not really the position that inspires confidence in the ability of the IPCC to evaluate evolving science.

From where I sit it is clear that the IPCC’s views on the magnitude of the challenge of decarbonization need to be dramatically revised, no matter how many people and governments signed on to the IPCC.