U.S. Abandons Kyoto Climate Pact, a Blow to Europe

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

.S. Abandons Kyoto Climate Pact, a Blow to Europe Photos

Reuters Photo

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday the United States had effectively abandoned the 1997 Kyoto treaty to fight global warming, seen in Europe as central to U.S.-EU relations.

``The president has been unequivocal. He does not support the Kyoto treaty,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) told reporters. ``It is not in the United States' economic best interest,'' he said.

Asked whether the United States would withdraw from the treaty, Fleischer said it had never come into force, meaning ''there's nothing to withdraw from.''

The European Union (news - web sites), which said last week the global warming was an integral part U.S.-EU relations, expressed concern over the Bush administration stance. Democrats and environmental groups denounced it.

``The new president came to town saying he would change the tone and change the climate in Washington; I guess we didn't realize it was the real climate he wanted to change,'' U.S. House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri said at a news conference.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher later said the United States was not considering formally ``unsigning'' the treaty. ``The administration clearly opposes the protocol ... What we are looking for is how to work with other governments to move forward on this,'' he said.

Europe Watching Closely

The pact, signed by former President Bush (news - web sites) in 1998 but never introduced in the Senate for ratification, aims to limit industrial-nation emissions of ``greenhouse gases'' thought to cause global warming.

Bush opposes the pact because it does not also bind developing nations to curb emissions and because he believes the costs outweigh the benefits, Fleischer said. He said Bush had ordered a Cabinet-level review of global warming issues to develop a U.S. response to the issue.

Earlier this month, the president broke a campaign promise by announcing he would not ask U.S. power plants to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas that a great majority of scientists say is a key factor in the Earth's rising average temperatures.

Bush's carbon dioxide decision followed intense lobbying by coal and oil companies and congressional conservatives who opposed the proposal.

The White House comments on Wednesday came a day before Bush was to hold talks in Washington with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who asked Bush in a letter last week to abide by the agreement.

The European Union has also asked Bush to press ahead with the deal, saying a joint effort to fight global warming was ``an integral part of relations'' with the European Union.

EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said in a statement, ``It is very worrying if it is true that the U.S. intends to pull out of the Kyoto protocol.'' An EU spokeswoman said the United States had not yet replied to its request for high-level meetings to settle differences over the treaty.

Fleischer said only one of the 55 nations whose approval is required to put the treaty in effect -- Romania -- had so far acted to comply with the pact.

``It is a signal worldwide that others agree with the president's position on the treaty,'' he said.

He said the U.S. Senate had voted against ratifying the pact. He was referring to a nonbinding resolution, passed 95-0 before the Kyoto pact was reached, that said the Senate could not support any global warming pact that did not bind developing countries along with developed countries.

``The concern is that most of the world is exempt from the treaty and the treaty as it currently is written is not in the economic interests of the United States as well, because of the huge costs involved that are disproportionate to the benefits,'' he said.

The environmental group Friends of the Earth (news - web sites) criticized the U.S. position as ``environmental isolationism.''

``He (Bush) is systematically breaking his promises to the American public to protect the environment and keeping his promises to the wealthy polluters who put him in office,'' said organization spokesman Mark Helm. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010328/ts/bush_environment_dc_4.html

-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), March 28, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ