At Fresh Energy, we focus on solutions to create clean energy jobs, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and protect the environment. We have a record of meticulous non-partisanship, and we know that we cannot fix our energy challenges with only one political party on board.

We feel proud that we helped to forge political consensus here in Minnesota, especially during the 2007 legislature, when 90% of the politicians voted for sweeping changes in energy and environmental protection, signed into law by Governor Pawlenty. Those sweeping changes included that one quarter of our state's electricity would come from renewable energy like solar and wind by 2020. In addition, by 2020, even more new energy would come from utilities investing in energy-savings programs.

To top it off, our legislature and our governor agreed on a bold goal to reduce global warming emissions across the economy, cutting CO2 nearly a third by 2025 and 80% by 2050.

In November 2007, Governor Pawlenty used these accomplishments to drive a broad consensus among Midwest governors to advance clean energy objectives and cut global warming emissions regionwide. But when he took this agenda to the National Governors Association, he was rebuffed by colleagues in both parties, and then he backed away, earning Pawlenty a "full flop'' rating by PolitiFact, the St. Petersburg Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning political fact-checking project.

Dennis Lien of the Pioneer Press reported on Governor Pawlenty's flip-flop on global warming last weekend.  Steven Schier, the straight-shooting political scientist from Carleton College spells it out: "The audience for Tim Pawlenty's political comments has changed. It used to be the Minnesota public. Now, it's a group of Republicans who will decide their nominee in 2012. He's not running in Minnesota. He's definitely preaching to a different choir.''

More troubling, all eight Republicans hoping to succeed Pawlenty as governor have unified around a strategy of attacking the science of climate change. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reported last month, there's a competition among candidates to see who can be the "number one global warming denier in Minnesota." Eight candidates deny that humans are the primary cause of a warming climate, dismissing the 2500 scientists who have repeatedly laid out climate science and dire warnings to reduce our emissions from burning fossil fuels.

There is room to fault the scientific consensus of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)---it is too cautious, too conservative, and by the time the ink is dry on their twice-per-decade summary for policymakers, new science shows that the realities have worsened. The shocking shrinkage of the Arctic ice cap in fall of 2007 is a case in point. Indeed, if each sentence in the IPCC summary must be approved by the governments of every one of 130 participating countries, doesn't that sound pretty conservative?

Fresh Energy has been speaking the truth about climate change and its solutions for 15 years. Fresh Energy's staff and board and members have been willing to address any audience, build any alliance, find common cause with any business leader, utility, farm group or politician -- Republican, Democrat, Independent or Green. As the countries of the world prepare to gather in Copenhagen, the time is now to come together as Americans of good will, as Minnesota did in 2007, and build the energy future we all can live with.

That requires support of leaders of all major political parties-all reasonable and well-informed people who fairly examine the science and economics, and choose to embrace our common clean energy future. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham's NYTimes op-ed yesterday with John Kerry outlined this bipartisan approach to a climate and energy bill, and raised hope that a Senate deal can be done before Copenhagen: Yes We Can (Pass Climate Change Legislation).

Our partnership represents a fresh attempt to find consensus that adheres to our core principles and leads to both a climate change solution and energy independence. It begins now, not months from now - with a road to 60 votes in the Senate...This process requires honest give-and-take and genuine bipartisanship.  In that spirit, we have come together to put forward proposals that address legitimate concerns among Democrats and Republicans and the other constituencies with stakes in this legislation.

On the energy and climate front, this first whiff of bipartisanship is the single most promising news from Capitol Hill since the House passed its bill in June. Now, Senators, let's get this done, and done right!