“We know that climate change is occurring, right? Everyone knows that. We know it’s dramatic. We know that mankind is the likely…the vast majority of it is a result of our actions. So we need to address it and move quickly. I think when you start trying to break down which part of the climate disruption is the consequence of which pollution images, or who’s responsible, that’s when we get into trouble. I would certainly dramatically agree that we need billions of dollars…”

So said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in December, appearing on the show Democracy Now! during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen [at 7:40 of the video above. Full transcript at this link.]

Unfortunately, Hickenlooper was cut off mid-sentence by host Amy Goodman, who wanted to hear from Damon Moglen, the global warming campaign director for Greenpeace USA, about its “demands” at the conference. [Moglen had said earlier (4:46) that, "The expectation is that the U.S. will put somewhere in between half a billion and maybe a couple of billion dollars. This is pennies on the dollar of what’s needed, absolutely pennies on the dollar of what’s really needed."]

So Hickenlooper, now running for governor of Colorado, gets another chance. And we trust that he will answer these questions completely on the campaign trail: WHERE do we need billions of dollars? WHO should pay? And WHAT role should Colorado play?

We’re all ears.

[Updated 2/13/10]
____

Hickenlooper on climate politics: the slavery analogy