Interview: Sen. Kerry’s Blueprint For Passing Climate Legislation

John Kerry of Massachusetts, the party’s 2004 presidential nominee, is at the heart of efforts to shepherd a climate bill through the U.S. Senate. And after watching previous versions of climate legislation falter, Kerry says he is convinced that a confluence of events — including growing evidence of global warming, the support of the Obama administration, and the potential of green jobs to help turn around the U.S. economy — have set the stage for passage of landmark carbon cap-and-trade legislation. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, conducted by Greenwire senior reporter Darren Samuelsohn, Kerry speaks about the political and policy challenges that Democrats face this year in trying to pass a climate bill, President Obama’s role in the Capitol Hill debate, and what qualifies as success at the UN climate conference this December in Copenhagen. Kerry predicts a bruising battle for the climate bill, but predicts: “We’re going to get it done.”

Click here to read the full interview.