Name: U.S. will likely need to regain the world’s trust as a sustainability champion
Uploaded: 2021-01-12
Duration: 5 min 54 s
Description: According to former Obama and Biden envoy Amos Hochstein.

U.S. will likely need to regain the world’s trust as a sustainability champion

Environment

Amos Hochstein believes the U.S. will need to regain trust

Former Obama envoy on U.S. sustainability role

According to former Obama and Biden envoy Amos Hochstein. 

Watch: U.S. will likely need to regain the world’s trust as a sustainability champion

I'm almost wondering if you could chime in on that. You know, you mentioned use the word symbolic in our return to some of the international agreements. And I know you've talked about our flip flops from administration to administration and losing some of the world's, um, you know, our leadership position. Do you think that we can, as the United States thinking of, you know, using that as a as a viewpoint right now, Um, even though we're having a global conversation. But do you think that that there's an opportunity to regain a leadership role and does it even matter? I mean, can can corporations in partnership with the government Now hopefully be the leaders going forward. Well, what I mean when I say that is that we can't as optimistic as we are about the fact that we have a new administration and we really are and, um and you know, I really believe in this team. You can't walk into 2021 expecting that we're just erasing the last four years in the United States is walking onto the international stage as though we are in 2016 and we're just snapping our fingers and Let's play pretend a lot has happened in the last four years, so I refer to it as symbolic, but not as a pejoratively. I mean that positively day one joining of Paris. And the reason it's symbolic is because it's setting this, making a statement that what was done in 2017, we are returning to the 2016 mindset of returning to the Paris Accords. However, we are coming into it with the intention of negotiating a new goals and more aggressive and more, um, ambitious agenda than what was agreed to, uh, four or five years ago. So, yes, it's symbolical returning to Paris. But we're that's That's sort of the day one statement that the United States is shifting its focus, but it's a bigger issue. What you mentioned in your question that I've been writing about as that is, we're the world has also learned its lessons and how to deal with the United States. And we're still when when I was in the government working for Vice President Biden, you'd go in some places around the world and say, Look, guys, you came to us in Kyoto. I mean remarkably people still telling me about, you know, the scars of Kyoto, where the administration was pushing countries, uh, in a certain direction but wasn't able to deliver back home the United States Senate to ratify the agreement and so on. So there is that legacy combined with the fact that a lot of the work that was done in the second term of the Obama administration was done by executive order. That was the Senate that was wiped out by the Trump administration and a complete reversal of unfortunate. So the many in the global, uh, other governments and companies around the world are going to hold the US team coming in a little bit defeat more to the fire here of saying, Okay, what are you actually going to be able to do now? A lots changed since the since the Democrats are now going to be the majority in the Senate, and that clearly is a big change. But the knee, the skepticism that some have around the world of making sure that the US cannot just promise and make big announcements and big NBCs but can actually follow through, uh, not only to implement in the U. S, but also to implement in such a way that there's some certainty that it will that will be lasting, uh, using legislation more than executive order. Uh, And I I cautioned. Some folks are saying, Look, even though we're going to control Democrats are gonna have a majority in the House represented majority very thin majority in the Senate and the administration and the Trump administration may be gone. But what's not what won't be gone is the legacy of the judicial legacy that the Trump Administration was able to achieve of putting in quite conservative judges that will, that will still pose challenges for, uh, for some of this regulatory process, I say all these challenge that I think are overcome a ble. But when we walk onto that stage, we have to recognize that when you know that Europe and other countries around the world are going to expect the US to come and deliver, so we can't just walk on 2021 say we're back everything. Let's forget about the last four years and move forward. Having said all that, I do think from a leadership perspective, we call that the U. S. Doesn't need to be the leader Uh, and I really liked Emmanuel. You're coming? Not the leader of the free world, but the leader of the green world. Um, parts of the leaders of the green world and not definitely are not part of the free world. Uh, so I think that the world is in a different place than it was. The major achievement of the Obama administration was getting Prime Minister Modi and President Xi to join the Paris Accord. Um, today that that's not a major achievement anymore. The goals that China has placed are fairly aggressive. So I think we're in a different place and we don't need to be the leader. We just need to bring the world together and push for this coalition. And I go back to what Nancy said before The way we will get our seat back at the table with credibility is what we do at home. If we're able to partner with the and incentivize the business community in the United States to grow these investments and to use Nancy talked about a car in a stick up the stick part is going to be hard. Although I think necessary. Um but I think the incentive making, uh, this transition, more acceptable and palatable to a broader swath of the American population, is going to be critical to the success of the administration of getting of being able to move this along and working together with the private sector to get there.