Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - November 16, 2009

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Article by Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Kevin Gallagher, Megan Ceronsky and Tomás Carbonell

Commentary

At an APEC breakfast in Singapore, President Obama and other world leaders lowered expectations for the Copenhagen climate change summit by agreeing to negotiate a short "politically binding agreement" first, and deferring a legally binding treaty until mid to late 2010 . . . First, health care legislation and then financial reform? With increasing concern about the economy and jobs, the Administration and Congressional leadership may feel pressure to tackle reform of the banking system and financial markets before moving on to greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, a new regulatory regime for financial markets could be necessary to make Senators comfortable with the "trade" part of cap-and-trade. This approach, however, could mean that climate change