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TechnoratiUS Asked to Take Role on Climate
BERLIN -- The leaders of the world's second- and third-largest economies, Japan and Germany, pressed the biggest -- the United States -- yesterday to agree to dramatic action in addressing climate change at a Group of 8 summit meeting next month.
But Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a speech to the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of Parliament, tried to lower expectations that President Bush would agree to anything close to the ambitious goals being laid out in Europe and, most recently, Japan.
"I can say quite openly that, today, I don't know whether we will succeed in that at Heiligendamm," she said, referring to the Baltic Sea resort where the G-8 leaders will meet from June 6-8.
"But for me it is clear that the big developed nations must take the lead on this issue if we are to have a chance at fighting climate change," she told the Bundestag.
Her speech came hours after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan proposed cutting world greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050 as part of a new framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
"The Kyoto Protocol was the first, concrete step for the human race to tackle global warming, but we must admit that it has limitations," he said at a conference in Tokyo, Bloomberg reported.
Abe, who takes over the G-8 presidency from Merkel next year, specifically called on the United States and China, the world's two biggest producers of carbon emissions, to take the lead in the fight against global warming. This, he added, would entail developing new technologies for renewable energy, as well as reducing or eliminating carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants.
He also proposed that those developing countries that committed themselves to reducing global warming should receive financial assistance.
The United States has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because of concerns about damage to the US economy and because China and India were not part of it. Both Abe and Merkel have pressed Bush in private meetings to reconsider, but to little apparent effect.
Agreed to in 1997, the protocol requires the 35 participating countries to cut their carbon emissions from 1990 levels by 5.2 percent by 2012.
Merkel said the G-8 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States -- should take the lead in agreeing to new measures on climate change.
"It is important that the G-8 develops a common understanding how climate change can be tackled and that agreements can me made for the period beyond 2012," said Merkel, a former environment minister, who has made the fight against global warming one of her main foreign policy goals since taking over the European Union and G-8 presidencies in January.
The G-8, she added, "must significantly and quickly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases to limit earth warming to 2 degrees Celsius."
Merkel has also won support from Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, who made climate change one of his main concerns when he was chairman of the G-8 summit meeting last year. In March, the British government agreed to cut emissions 26 percent to 32 percent by 2020. An EU summit chaired by Merkel in March in Brussels agreed that the member states, collectively, would cut emissions by 20 percent by 2020.
© Copyright 2007 The Boston Globe
9 Comments so far
Show AllWhat we should understand is that 'great wealth' is not the same as 'great intelligence'. Our wealthy rulers, here in the USA, only care about more money, and more power, not a cleaner, safer, or saner world. While 'religion' may be the ' Heroin of the masses', wealth and power are the 'meth' of the over acheivers; and we are, whether you like it or not... at their mercy right now.
Climate change interferes with Bush's global agenda, so he recites the platitudes written by his handlers, and moves on. But the biosphere is no longer moving with him, or with humanity.
Bush's response is predictably like that of a bratty child. It is true that China and India must make changes also, but to use that as an excuse for US inaction defies all logic. Carbon cutting measures would certainly be a boon to our economy, but not necessary to the few special interest groups our president serves. Do these people think money will save them from global warming catastrophes?
Perhaps we should entertain the notion that the president of the USA has begun to listen to his advisors and, finally realizes he will be remembered in the history books as the worst president this country has ever (sort of) elected. If he is 'looking forward to' those history books of the future, perhaps the best way for him to remove his negative image would be to eliminate the entire human population of Planet Earth. Global Warming = No Books.
The U S is a wrecking crew, not a constructive crew. You don't ask a wrecking crew to construct. Look at what is happening in Iraq and what happened in Vietnam.
The impending dangers from global warming have been been obvious to anyone who had made even minor efforts to be informed. The evidence linking carbon pollution to warming is as close to certain as science can be. Its causes, consequences, and mitigation requirements have been documented by the scientific community, many dedicated environmental organizations including The Union of Concerned Scientists, and chronicled in the press for years.
The dangerous manipulation of essential scientific data used by this administration to conceal and derail corrective measures for this threat and other vital environmental reforms has also been apparent. The gullibility of so many who are influanced by them is more alarming than the scientific manipulation itself.
Contrary to their assertions, measures to reduce greenhouse gases could only improve our economy by lessening our trade deficits, and improving our security by reducing our dependance on foreign oil. We could also regain some of our lost world respect that has resulted from our opposition Kyoto while arrogantly contributing disproportionally to carbon pollution. With our involvement, China & India could then be compelled to join the rest of the developed world.
Often overlooked is the fact that the same measures needed to mitigate global warming would be necessary even if it were not an issue. Conservation, alternative energy development, anti- pollution refinements, etc are essential for other vital environmental reforms such as air and water quality, reductions in toxic waste generation, land preservation, etc.
The environmental and social damage from our indifference to (and even denial of) carbon pollution and its effects can only worsen if we allow these destructive policies of this reckless and unlearned president and his financial supporters to continue.
rhsettgast@hotmail.com
How can anyone be stupid enough to ask Bu$h the inferior to do anything logical, honest, environmental, fair, charitable, good, decent, patriotic etc. etc. ?
Apparently, we were when we thought that voting Democratic could rid us of the SOB.
"Sure, we'll play villain"