Bush refuses to implement climate treaty
President George W Bush will not implement the climate treaty negotiated in Kyoto but will seek an alternative that would "include the world" in the effort to reduce pollution.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that Bush wants to work with allies on a plan that would require developing nations to meet certain standards.
"To exempt most of the world is not a treaty the president thinks is in the interest of this country, or would get the job done," Fleischer said. "It’s important to include the world in the treaty, not exempt most of the world."
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman said yesterday that the Bush administration was not interested in implementing the treaty because Congress was unlikely to ratify it.
She said the administration will remain "engaged" in international negotiations on ways to address climate change. But it was unclear what position the administration intends to take to the next United Nations meeting on the Kyoto accords, scheduled for this summer.
Whitman repeatedly noted that the Senate voted 95-0 against the United States taking any action on climate change unless developing countries also take some measures to reduce heat-trapping "greenhouse" gases, which are mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels.
The Kyoto agreement calls for industrial nations to reduce emissions - at least for the time being. The United States would be required to cut emissions about a third by 2012.
Bush on a number of occasions has expressed his opposition to the Kyoto accord, which the Clinton administration had viewed as essential to dealing with the risks of climate change.
Whitman noted that no other industrial country has ratified the agreement. "We are not the only ones who have problems with it," Whitman said.
Three weeks ago, Whitman in a memo urged Bush to continue to recognize global warming as a serious concern, arguing that to back away from the issue would be damaging both domestically and internationally.
"Mr. President, this is a credibility issue for the US in the international community. It is also an issue that is resonating here at home," she wrote in the March 6 memo. "We need to appear engaged."
The memo came a week before Bush announced he would not endorse legislation regulating carbon dioxide, reversing a position he had taken during his presidential campaign.
