It’s small wonder environmentalists the world over have welcomed the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. Representing a clear contrast to eight years of the do-nothing, global warming denial politics of George Bush, Obama may bring a breath of much-needed fresh (and unpolluted) air to the debate in Washington.

Part of his interest in the environment is quite personal – his daughter Malia has chronic asthma, so he has the motivation to put up a good fight. We know Obama has a claim on change – but does he have the clout and commitment and knowledge of science to really battle what we are up against?

In the next year, he will have the opportunity to prove whether he is as good as his environmental plan is on paper.

Perhaps the head of the United Nations’ climate panel put it best – "The election of Obama is a development that should generate optimism all round," said Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

He went on to say Obama will be very clear about the need for the US to engage in global solutions to meet the challenge of climate change and also will bring about a major shift in US energy policy – a stark contrast from Bush’s non-participation in the issue.

Obama’s plan is comprehensive, though it will take leadership, tact and a compliant Congress to put it in motion. Obama hopes to create five million new US clean energy jobs, put one million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015, and implement an economy-wide cap and trade program to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions 80 per cent by 2050.

Obama has also promised to re-engage with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. But it’s still unclear whether the Congress would vote to ratify the treaty, which would send a real signal to the world that things in Washington have truly changed.

Some 183 countries including Australia and Great Britain have signed the historic Kyoto Protocol to the Framework Convention, and renewal of this treaty is on deck for Copenhagen this year (2009).

Obama clearly has to make up for lots of lost time on climate change, and there will be resistance from US industry. Even though both houses of Congress are controlled by a strong majority of his supporters, it has been difficult in the past several years to get enough votes to pass comprehensive climate change legislation.

Obama’s nod toward nuclear energy and clean coal technology could be a serious problem. Most environmentalists will tell you that clean coal is an oxymoron, and clean coal technology just doesn’t exist.

It’s not fine for Obama to say that clean coal is okay if it’s subject to sequestration and liquid coal works if it comes from a low-carbon lifecycle. Obama’s allegiance to the US coal state where he comes from, Illinois, could well undermine his plan on climate. Perhaps some of his more senior advisors will get him to see the light.

Obama still has to prove to the world that he is serious about enacting his climate plan. With the US economy in the emergency room, Obama may have a tough time convincing Americans that action on climate change is needed when what they are really worried about are their jobs. But Obama is right about one thing – change has come, and more changes are still ahead.

Kathleen Rogers is the President of the Earth Day Network.