Greenpeace Posts Leaked US Objection to G8 Climate Statement
Greenpeace on Saturday published a leaked document showing the United States has raised serious new objections to a proposed global warming declaration for next month’s Group of Eight summit.
In the document, US officials representing the administration of President George W. Bush reject the declaration prepared by Germany.
“The United States still has serious, fundamental concerns about this draft statement,” the document states. 
Washington rejects the idea of setting mandatory emissions targets, as well as language calling for G8 nations to raise overall energy efficiencies by 20 percent by 2020.
With less than two weeks remaining before the June 6-8 G8 summit, the climate document is the only unresolved issue in the statements the world leaders are expected to sign there, according to media reports.
Representatives from the world’s leading industrial nations met the past two days in Heiligendamm, Germany, to negotiate over German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s proposed climate statement.
It calls for limiting the worldwide temperature rise this century to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit and cutting global greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
“The treatment of climate change runs counter to our overall position and crosses multiple ‘red lines’ in terms of what we simply cannot agree to,” according to the undated document released by Greenpeace.
“We have tried to ‘tread lightly’ but there is only so far we can go given our fundamental opposition to the German position,” it added.
According to reports in the Washington Post about the leaked document, the most recent draft, dated May 24, shows the two sides remain at odds.
While Germany has offered to alter language identifying a rise in global temperature of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit as a dangerous tipping point and instead accept a Russian proposal that targets a range from 2.7 to 4.5 degrees, the United States has yet to accept the modified language.
According to the US document, such proposals “are fundamentally incompatible with the (US) president’s approach to climate change”.
It proposes more general language stating simply that the G8 “is committed to taking strong and early action to balance global carbon circulation”.
Washington further wants a statement that reads: “We acknowledge that the UN climate process is an appropriate forum for negotiating future global action on climate change” to be scrapped from the declaration.
On May 18, senior US lawmakers wrote to Bush expressing deep concern over reports that his administration was seeking to weaken a G8 declaration on climate change.
“US leadership is critical to tackling this global threat … But we need an executive branch that engages the rest of the world to solve this problem rather than stubbornly ignoring it,” the 15 heads of House committees wrote.
Copyright © 2007 AFP.
The Bush Administration is nearly one and the same with the oil industry, the ownership of which provides critical political leverage in global politics. In short, controlling oil is critical to world dominance. This fact relates directly to their stance on climate change, which is to avoid all mitigating action, since it calls for a sea-change away from the fossil-fuel based economy from which all their power stems.
With the war over the Middle East oil escalating — possibly to Iran — and global warming worsening, the stage is set for unbelievable disasters across the globe. The Bush Administration is on a delusional march to world domination through world destruction. The very likely and potential horrors are scarcely to be underestimated.
If we don’t dump the Bush Bunch well before its term is up we deserve everything that happens to us. We won’t deserve the America envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
Boycott all goods and services of businesses, corporations, and multi-nationals of the United States; it is the only way to put pressure on the government.
Impeach Cheney and Bush now . Elect Kucinich and/or Gore
Peace and sustainability are in our hands, accept no less.
Daracuso - I agree with everything except the “all” in “all their power.” Some of their power comes from military services industry, coal, and nuclear power. And then there’s media power, which tilts right in most cases. Ultimately I think their power stems from ignorance and denial, but that’s a whole different plane.
If you look at history, all great nations eventually deteriorate. Its unfortunate that this administration is moving this country in that direction every day. The ignorance and pure greed of this government is nothing shy of obscene and unfortunately the true Patriots will suffer along side the clowns who are running things into the ground.
Having lived in the US all my life and having been a federal employee for NOAA’s National Weather Service for 29 years I doubt a post-Bush administration will do much better. My outlook might change if NOAA directs its NWS staff of 5,500 in 120 offices nation-wide to educate the public about the seriousness of global warming and the duties we all have to Earth and its inhabitants. Not much chance of that when nothing is being said or done about NWS silence on global warming. Everyone needs to be on board with this. A different US President may do better than Bush but not to a level that would woud have much effect on the consequences of what we’re doing to global and regional climates.
Let’s get something straight here. The greedy slime want the destruction caused by global warming, like they want to continue to pollute the air and water. The wealthiest corporations will be the ones to build the huge systems needed to clean filthy air and water, and the ones to rebuild destroyed cities and coastlines, thus making air, water, and survival oligopolized commodities they can sell back to you. It has nothimg to do with morality or compassion. It is about money - it’s always been about the money. You do not have the power to stop them but you can change them by giving the least amount of your money to them.
This is all so much bovine flatulence in any event. Until seamless solar electricity-generating panels are installed on our homes and ELECTRIC CARS’ solar surfaces and generating current back into the grid, where NON-NUCLEAR plants’ emissions are completely scrubbed, they’re ALL “blowin’ in the wind”!
we need more dead presidents. the sooner the better. what the hell take the whole upper layer of the capitalist/corporate/fascist class and add them to the list. the only good corporate/fascist is a dead corporate/fascist. and when the fun is over medicare and good education for all and the environment defining a new religion.
http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm
Maybe Americans are not too worried about global warming. Losing LA, Manhattan, southern Florida and the Gulf Coast might be tough, but they have a big spare attic room to move into when the floods, droughts, locusts, fires and heatwaves come. It’s called Canada, has lots of oil and water, has a subservient sock-puppet government, and the insurgency is pathetically disorganized and unarmed.
The bad thing is that any mediocre engineer can easily improve the energy efficiency and reduce the pollution of any system. Taken together these changes could improve the world substantially.
The energy and oil consumption subsidies along with cost shifting much of the cost of energy production and consumption away from the sticker price of energy makes good projects appear to have a long payback.
Our tax system allows deductions for wasteful energy use.
Much of the damage and panic about environmental issues is because we make no effort to do what we can - right now.
It seems obvious that our administration knows something that we do not know. Global warming data is being manipulated and massaged by politicians and scientists to support their agendas. There is little truth in all that is being stated as truth. At this point in time it is mostly speculation and theory. The more I read the less I believe either side of the issue.
Here we have a potentially serious problem or a warming trend that will pass with time. History will determine if we did the right thing. One thing is certain of humanity at this point and time and it concerns our level of incompetence. Governments will continue to ramble on and fight up until the very last minute and nothing will get done. This should not be news to anyone who has paid attention for the last 100 years.
I have said this before and I will say this again. YOU are in more control then anyone wants you to realize. YOUR actions contribute directly to the future of out planet. YOUR choices as a consumer directly effect the products corporations make available. Changes YOU make to become more self-reliant and less energy dependent will better prepare you for the future be it catastrophic of sublime. Don’t expect the governments to do anything, it is up to YOU to do the right thing for our future on this planet.
Watch the news for an upcoming London event in July of this year that has the potential to change everything.
The US will be under increasing international pressure to do something about global warming, but the only politician who could lead the world through this crisis is Al Gore. A recent Time magazine cover hinted that Gore could be our savior. I agree. Without him, we will continue to shun even the most meager conservation measures. We will drive our Escalades to the grocery store where our Chilean grapes will be double bagged in plastic. A few simple laws could still save the world.
Global warming is bigger than Iraq, bigger than health care, abortion, stem cell research etc. We all need to support, promote encourage, beg Al Gore to run.
The President of the United States needs to lead on this issue. Our representatives need to take issue with this and begin to pass legislation that ranks this issue on the level of the Iraq war. I am so disgusted and worried about the secrecy and back-room deals throughout this administration. From lies about 9-11, the war, the Gonzales fiasco, the Halliburton and Blackwell private contracts - citizens have got to read more and become educated on what the hell is going on, and has been going on, to redirect the energy and focus to our elections. And, then people have to vote in those elections! Our perspective on what the United States of America stands for and is - is quickly disappearing. We are losing our freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, freedom to get truth in our news media and freedom to take the govenment to task. The only way for the governance of this country to wake up is for citizens organize and demonstrate in the streets. Remember the Seattle demonstations for the World Bank meeting? We need more of that - not with violence of breaking property - in the manner of MLK’s freedom marches. How do we begin to do that? How far will it go before we are just like the countries we are mucking up with our covert strategies - including the misinformation on global warming. Exxon needs to be fined for doing that to the American people and the world.
I am currently listening to what Al Gore has to say.
Let’s try to remember that oil is not the only carbon-based fuel. Coal is one of the biggest contributors to global warming. Allowing the rain forests in South America to be decimated is another. We need to talk about the BIG picture. Plants produce oxygen; bulldoze the land to build more energy-inefficient houses and we’re all adding to the problem. I agree we need to reduce the unnecessary driving, consolidate errands into one trip a week. Plan ahead. Start thinking for yourself and stop letting the TV tell you what to do, where to shop and when to do it. Choose to be part of the solution instead of contributing to the problem. There are numerous websites with suggestions on the small changes each of us can make to, at the very least, slow down the global warming process.
Start NOW!
Al Gore knew that global warming was happening while he was the US Vice President from 1992-2000. I wrote to him about the need for action on greenhouse gas emissions and global warming in March of 2000. No no meaningful action while he was V.P. and no reply to my letter of request. NOAA’s National Weather Service issued two suspension to me in year 2000 for my research and communications on climate change and hydrology in the Upper Midwest. Bush took over in 2001.
I have three questions - maybe someone can answer. I live in a county that has a landfill program - we tap off the methane from the old eyesore landfill and convert it to electricity (in a small, quiet and neat building on the landfill property, which now looks like a park). From this we supply the energy for all our county buildings and some of the town ones too. We also have two windmill arrays; they’re small but they supply electricity for other town and village buildings. Both the landfill and the windfarms produce excess and sell it back to the grid. Here are my questions:
1)Why can’t these programs sell electricity directly to consumers instead of going through the grid, which charges consumers extra for it?
2) What are the downsides to these programs?
3) Is there any village/town/city/county in the whole country that doesn’t have an old eyesore landfill?
I hope someone can answer the first two questions (I admit I already know the answer to the third). All those perfectly good landfills going to waste! (no pun intended)
In case you wonder, this is NY State and thanks to our public officials, from the governor (was Pataki, now Spitzer) right down to our local officials, who all worked together to create these miracles.
Pat Neuman:
It took Hurricane Katrina to get people to take collective notice about global warming. During the Clinton years, Mr. Gore’s environmental concerns were viewed as a political liability. Also, Vice President and President are a world away in terms of power. I was also disappointed that so little was done during this time period, but that reflects on Bill and Hillary.
Why didn’t Al Gore tell Br. Gen Jack Kelly (ret.) to direct the NWS staff, about 5,500 in 120 offices, to help the public understand global warming?
Think globally - act locally.
There’s a saying I came upon - “I wondered why somebody didn’t do something - then I realized that I am somebody.”
Stop blaming other people - We are the somebodies who have to do something.
Pat Neuman:
Step 1: Get rid of Bush & Cheney.
Step 2: Show some optimism….anyone is better than this current administration. At least Gore recognizes there is a problem.
I am one of the somebodies who has been doing something are you?
“Incredibly, 1990 was the last time Washington required automakers to improve fuel efficiency for passenger cars.” Ronald Brownstein
Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2007
Climate commitment - Washington can improve vehicle efficiency and cut emissions — if it wants to.
Pat Neuman:
Your knowledge of these details exceeds my own, I’m not familiar with the scenario you are describing. However, I think you should cut Mr. Gore some slack. It is very hard to rise to the top in government without being corrupt. I am convinced that Gore is committed to the environment like no one else. If he looked too radical along the way, he never would have made it this far. I have noticed that he is held to a much hgher standard than his contemporaries. It is incredible that we won’t do the simplest things to save the world, even when there is no sacrifice involved. However if Gore were President, we would reap the benefits of a true environmental commitment.
jstevens,
You wrote … “A recent Time magazine cover hinted that Gore could be our savior” and agreed with that.
My comments were not intended to be anti-Gore. I voted for Gore in 2000 and I would do so again in another election. I disagree that Gore will save Earth from our own destruction.
Pat Neuman,
Thank you for your comments. Perhaps I’m a little touchy on the subject. To me, Mr. Gore provides a shred of hope, but salvation is a long shot to say the least.
Same here.
Pat
One more thing, a question.
Why was a hydrologist with the federal government not allowed to research climate change effects on hydrology?
The hydrologist earned a Master of Science degree in 1975 from the University of Wisconsin Madison campus with special studies in hydrology and Great Lakes water levels, gained experience in river forecast modeling at NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) from 1976-2005, researched and communicated on climate and hydrologic change from 2000-2005 and was removed from service by NWS in July, 2005 while a senior hydrologist at the North Central River Forecast Center, Chanhassen, MN. The hydrologist had earned commendable and outstanding performance rating for nearly his entire career prior to his removal by NOAA’s NWS.
The last sentence in the article; “US leadership is critical to tackling this global threat…., say a lot, however, before we can have leadership, we need to have a leader. Unfortunately, this country has not had a leader for a very long time.
We need an honest leader who is supported by an overwhelming majority of the people.
What we really need is an overwhelming majority of people who are willing to speak up - shout out - scream, if we must, until this corrupt political system comprehends that we’re fed up and we’re not going to take it anymore!
I did what you said but no one else saw it that way. Thus, I lost my job as a NOAA hydrologist with NWS. Who else is willing to take a personal risk for the environment?