The US Presidential Primary Process: Significance of Environmental Issues

On 11 July 2007, an Ecologic Transatlantic Lunch Dialogue was held in Berlin in honour of Steven C. Clemons and Andrew Oros. Steve Clemons is the Director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation, as well as author of the influential Blog "The Washington Note". Andrew Oros is a Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the Washington College. Drawing on the Republican and Democratic presidential primary process, Steve Clemons and Andrew Oros agreed that environmental and climate change issues are not the centrepiece of discussion, but may play a role when linked to security aspects.

In their remarks, Steve Clemons and Andrew Oros noted that Iraq remains the centrepiece of debate in the primary process, as the discussion about an exit strategy remains one of the most pressing issues for the American public. The major candidates - including Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards and Joe Biden on the Democratic side, compared to former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani and Senators Sam Brownback and John McCain on the Republican side - are therefore moved to develop strategies to end the Iraq war. However, due to increasing awareness of climate change and other environmental concerns resulting from Hurricane Katrina, former Vice President Al Gore's popular movie "An Inconvenient Truth", and increasing gas prices, an acknowledgement of the link between energy, security and the environment is growing.

The subsequent roundtable discussion extended from the candidate-specific level to a broader transatlantic dialogue on the significance of the environment and climate change in the US public debate. It included the following issues and questions:

• What influence has former Vice President Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary had on the US national climate change debate? Will Gore enter the presidential race on an environmental ticket?
• The role of environmental policy on the subnational level
• Links between the economic importance of environmental technology and a leading US role in a world that eventually needs to address climate change
• The importance of understanding interrelations between energy and security interests, alleged solutions such as nuclear energy and subsequent proliferation and security risks
• The increasing role of bio energy in the Mid-West

Further links:

• CV Andrew Oros
• Ecologic Dinner Dialogue: Comparative Domestic Policies - Experiences at the Subnational Level with Miranda A. Schreurs