Over the last year there has been a noticable shift in the public’s response to the issue of global warming.

Seattle mayor Greg Nickels started a nationwide movement declaring that his city would meet the Kyoto treaty emissions targets. Since then 131 city mayors representing 29 million citizens in 35 different states have vowed to implement the Kyoto protocol in their own towns. What is more, many of the cities are led by Republicans and some come from the most conservative parts of the country, such as the town of Hurst in deepest Texas. The latest addition to the club is New York, which has been signed up by its Republican mayor, Michael Bloomberg.

Even more surprising is the movement coming out of evangelical churches. The revolt against administration policies has even spread right into the heart of the Republican party’s own base, its powerful evangelical Christian wing. Earlier this year 1,000 church leaders and other clergy signed a powerful statement dubbed ‘Creation Care’calling on the White House to act on environmental issues, including global warming.

There was no mandate, no majority, or no “values” message in this past election for the President or the Congress to roll back and oppose programmes that care for God’s creation,’ the statement said.

The huge religious lobbying group, the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents about 30 million Christians, has also adopted a resolution that defined caring for a sustainable environment as a part of every Christian’s duty.

Even a number of large US companies have turned from opposing plans to control carbon emissions to embracing them. In part this reflects a hard-headed business attitude. Jeff Immelt, boss of General Electric, recently committed the firm to a set of green goals going far beyond any current government regulations. He even attacked America’s ‘do-nothing’ policy on climate change. Many American firms with partners in Europe, which has signed up to Kyoto, are already bound by its rules when they do business there. They are also wary of being held responsible for future liabilities if they do not act now.

Chuck Hagel R-Nebraska, who is positioning himself as one of the leading contenders for the Presidential election in 2008, delivered a speech to the Brookings Institution in February announcing plans to introduce three separate bills aimed at curbing carbon emissions. Then, stunning many commentators, he damned the current White House policy on the issue. ‘We have been out of the game for four years. That is dangerous. It’s irresponsible and we need to address it,’ he said.

These pronouncements must be taken with a grain of salt–there’s a big difference from positioning and producing, but none of these groups would be talking the way they are if public opinion wasn’t moving.