By Dean Scott

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who died of brain cancer Aug. 25, once championed the fight against climate change on the Senate floor and in his presidential campaign a decade ago.

Years before climate change became a signature issue for President Barack Obama, McCain prodded both parties to set mandatory caps on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

In August 2001, he warned Senate colleagues that a scientific consensus was emerging that global temperatures were on the rise and glaciers were in retreat and “that there is new and stronger evidence that most of the observed warming over the 50 years is attributable to human activities.”

A year later, he and Connecticut Sen…