McCain's green cred ripped to shreds by Palin's climate scepticism

Political opponents have attacked vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin over her scepticism about global warming, raising concerns that if elected, the McCain-Palin ticket could back away from proposed environmental legislation.

The Alaskan governor, picked to be John McCain's running mate last month, expressed scepticism about the link between human activity and global warming in an interview only last month with Newsmax.com.

"A changing environment will effect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location," Palin said in response to a question on global warming. "I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made."

John Kerry, who lost the presidential race in 2004, lambasted McCain's choice of running mate in an interview on ABC's This Week. "He's chosen someone who doesn't believe that climate change is man-made," he said of McCain. "I think John McCain's judgement is once again put at issue because he's chosen someone who clearly doesn't meet the national security threshold, and who is not ready to be president tomorrow."

The selection of Palin would mean that, if elected, a declared climate change sceptic would be just a "heart beat from the presidency", raising the distinct possibility of a reversion to the US' previously hostile position on global climate change legislation.

The move also raises the prospect of an immediate tension at the heart of a McCain administration over climate change and environmental legislation. Scepticism about the human cause of global warming runs against McCain's past record on environmental issues, according to Melanie Duchin, a climate change campaigner employed by Greenpeace in Alaska, who noted that McCain co-sponsored proposed legislation that would have seen the introduction of tradable carbon allowances earlier this decade. McCain has also proposed a return to the idea and the implementation of a nationwide carbon cap-and-trade scheme if elected president.

"The other disparity is that McCain has long been an opponent to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," said Duchin. "Sarah Palin has made it clear that she wants to open it up to drilling and that's another place where their positions don't nest."

However, David Sandretti, spokesman for the League of Conservation Voters, said that McCain's position on global warming is becoming more aligned with Palin's. "It seems to me that it's no longer a position he's embracing," he said, arguing that McCain has been stepping back from the climate change issue. "He never talks about global warming any more. During the primary he was much more vocal. "

Neither the Alaska governor's press office nor the McCain campaign's press office returned requests for comment.