For the first time, the US Congress has begun crafting comprehensive legislation to tackle global warming. Nature brought together five experts with various backgrounds to discuss the current political climate as the United States moves towards mandatory emissions caps. A full transcript of this discussion can be downloaded here .
Who's who
Julian Braithwaite works on climate issues as counsellor for global issues at the British Embassy in Washington DC.
Jason Grumet is executive director of the National Commission on Energy Policy, a non-partisan group whose work served as a platform for Senator Bingaman's legislation.
Michael MacCracken is the chief scientist for the Climate Institute in Washington DC.
Jonathan Pershing heads the climate, energy and pollution programme for the World Resources Institute in Washington DC.
Jim Rogers is the chairman and chief executiveof the nation's largest electric utilities, Duke Energy in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Two leading climate bills are currently before the Senate. One, by senators John Warner (Republican, Virginia) and Joseph Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut), would see a 63% reduction in emissions by 2050. The other, by Jeff Bingaman (Democrat, New Mexico) and Arlen Specter (Republican, Pennsylvania), offers softer targets. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the two?...MOREThis is one of three articles from Nature. The other two are:
Climate politics: Beyond Bush
The heat is on
