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A Global Warming Believer in Bush Cabinet
Environmentalists normally critical of Bush believe they may have an advocate with access to the president's ear.
"It isn't every day that the Sierra Club finds itself welcoming a nomination to George W. Bush's Cabinet while ultraconservatives decry the move," said Carl Pope, the Sierra Club's executive director.
  President Bush, left, listens as Goldman Sachs Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr., who is Bush's choice to replace outgoing Treasury Secretary John Snow, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House Tuesday, May 30, 2006 in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak - AP) Special Report
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"But on issues like global warming, Hank Paulson appears to favor managing risk rather than cooking the books," Pope said. "It is heartening that someone of Mr. Paulson's stature in the financial world is willing to say that immediate action must be taken to combat global warming."
Last year under Paulson's direction, Goldman Sachs issued an eight-page position paper on environmental policy, saying it accepts a scientific consensus, led by United Nations climate experts, that global warming poses one of the greatest threats this century.
Like Bush, the Goldman Sachs statement endorsed a market for businesses to buy and sell rights to emit greenhouse gases, saying it will spur technology advances by companies "that lead to a less carbon-intensive economy." But, it added, "Voluntary action alone cannot solve the climate change problem," a position contrary to the Bush administration's view.
The Nature Conservancy, under Paulson's direction, likewise supports a mandatory approach. It supports legislation by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., to cap U.S. greenhouse gases at 2000 levels, within five years. The Senate defeated the measure last year.
William Reilly, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency in President George H.W. Bush's administration and now chairs the World Wildlife Fund, said Paulson is "very much at home in the outdoors."
Paulson became chairman of The Nature Conservancy in 2004 after The Washington Post a year earlier raised questions about tax breaks claimed by the group's benefactors and private side deals on conservation easements.
He quickly assuaged lawmakers' concerns while also promoting conservation to Asia's business leaders and working with Chinese government officials to set land aside for parks.
"He has a reputation of being a very hands-on and supportive chairman," Reilly said of Paulson's work on behalf of environmentalists. "He was personally very generous and helpful in congressional relations the past year or so."
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