The U.S. State Department is expected to name Todd Stern, a senior White House official under former President Bill Clinton, as its climate change envoy, two people familiar with the decision said on Monday.They said the announcement could come as early as Monday, when U.S. President Barack Obama's administration plans to unveil steps to raise U.S. fuel efficiency standards as part of a series of announcements related to the environment.
Stern coordinated the Clinton administration's Initiative on Global Climate Change from 1997 to 1999, acting as the senior White House negotiator in the Kyoto talks on climate change. From 1999 to 2001, Stern advised the U.S. Treasury secretary on economic and financial issues and supervised the department's anti-money laundering strategy.
Stern is a partner in the Washington office of the WilmerHale law firm and a senior fellow at Center for American Progress think tank, which is home to many veterans of the Clinton administration.
Last week in "Fun With Enron Emails" I mentioned that Enron "really, really wanted carbon trading" on their terms.
This led to the infamous email from Enron's John Palmisano:
Implications of the Climate Change Agreement in Kyoto & What Transpired
If implemented [the Kyoto Protocol] will do more to promote Enron’s business than will almost any other regulatory initiative outside of restructuring of the [electricity] and natural gas industries in Europe and the United States....Ending with
...This agreement will be good for Enron stock!!
