Think Bigg

Despite his recent drop in Britain’s popularity polls (or perhaps because of it), Tony Blair seems determined to leave a political legacy that goes beyond just the war in Iraq.

According to the NY Times,

As nations and politicians in many parts of Europe compete to burnish their green credentials, Britain on Tuesday became the first national government to propose binding laws enforcing a steep cut in carbon emissions, in this case a 60 percent decrease by 2050.

If approved, the draft Climate Change Bill could affect many Britons in many ways. Officials might be summoned to appear before judges for failing to meet targets, households could be pressed to switch to low-energy light bulbs and install home insulation, and manufacturers could be asked to build TV sets without standby modes that consume energy when the devices are not in use.

The British draft law was announced only days after the European Union committed itself to a 20 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2020, but Britain went far beyond that target, setting for itself a reduction of 26 to 32 percent in the same time frame.

Perhaps President Bush will take a page from Prime Minister Blair’s playbook on this one? We can only hope.

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