Further US Opposition to Tackling Climate Change
With the forthcoming G8 summit (to be held from 6th to 8th June) getting closer, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, chairing the summit, is vehemently trying to broker consensus around an international deal on climate change to replace the current Kyoto regime when it runs out in 2012.
Not surprisingly perhaps the Bush administration is proving difficult to persuade. The US administration roundly rejected the Kyoto Protocol on the grounds that it would cost American jobs and excludes developing countries. So far, the stance in the US to climate change, with the exception of the likes of California and in spite of strong interest form American businesses to adopt some form of regulation that can provide certainty, has been one of adapting rather than regulating. This is in spite of the US being responsible for roughly a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gasses.
A draft agreement sketched by the German government, aiming at lowering emission of greenhouse gasses 50 per cent by 2050, has so far been endorsed by the European members of the G8 and Japan. The US opposition has apparently left the European governments furious as the main emitter of greenhouse gasses continues to rebuff any attempt to strike international consensus on a topic that is high on the political agenda in Europe. Although the US opposition is, on some accounts, understandable - China is expected to overtake the US as the World’s number one greenhouse gas emitter in a year or two - it follows recent events that might indicate a change in the perception of climate change in the US. Such events include the recent Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA (where it was ruled that the EPA has the authority and obligation to deal with emission of greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act), the setting up of a panel to study climate change by the Congress in March this year and a number of regional initiatives to tackle climate change in California and New York.
Although fresh statistics show that emission fell in the US in 2006, whereas it increased in Europe, US support for any international agreement aiming at lowering emission is paramount. Not only is it vital to have the biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses on board but it would also lend credibility to the agreement (and perhaps to President Bush as well for those who care) as well as making it easier to persuade countries like China and India to be part of the agreement. In the meantime, it is perhaps of some comfort that any decision by the US administration on the topic will come under scrutiny by the Democratic congress where concerns for the environment at least appears to be higher on the agenda.
Not surprisingly perhaps the Bush administration is proving difficult to persuade. The US administration roundly rejected the Kyoto Protocol on the grounds that it would cost American jobs and excludes developing countries. So far, the stance in the US to climate change, with the exception of the likes of California and in spite of strong interest form American businesses to adopt some form of regulation that can provide certainty, has been one of adapting rather than regulating. This is in spite of the US being responsible for roughly a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gasses.
A draft agreement sketched by the German government, aiming at lowering emission of greenhouse gasses 50 per cent by 2050, has so far been endorsed by the European members of the G8 and Japan. The US opposition has apparently left the European governments furious as the main emitter of greenhouse gasses continues to rebuff any attempt to strike international consensus on a topic that is high on the political agenda in Europe. Although the US opposition is, on some accounts, understandable - China is expected to overtake the US as the World’s number one greenhouse gas emitter in a year or two - it follows recent events that might indicate a change in the perception of climate change in the US. Such events include the recent Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA (where it was ruled that the EPA has the authority and obligation to deal with emission of greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act), the setting up of a panel to study climate change by the Congress in March this year and a number of regional initiatives to tackle climate change in California and New York.
Although fresh statistics show that emission fell in the US in 2006, whereas it increased in Europe, US support for any international agreement aiming at lowering emission is paramount. Not only is it vital to have the biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses on board but it would also lend credibility to the agreement (and perhaps to President Bush as well for those who care) as well as making it easier to persuade countries like China and India to be part of the agreement. In the meantime, it is perhaps of some comfort that any decision by the US administration on the topic will come under scrutiny by the Democratic congress where concerns for the environment at least appears to be higher on the agenda.
Comments
Bush has limited domestic support, and those that do support him are unfortunately not big fans of cleaning up emissions. This may be a situation where Bush is forced to maintain his core support.
This is just speculation, but I sense the hand of Vice-President Cheney here. He seems to take the lead in this administration on energy issues, and he's not always a diplomatic guy.
Climate change will certainly be a big issue in the upcoming Presidential race, and I'm afraid we will have to wait until the next administration for much headway from the Executive Branch on the issue. But the good news, as Ole points out, is US emissions were the lowest since 1990, in large part to favorable weather and increased gas prices.
There is some cause for optimism. From afar, it does seem that climate change is becoming a much bigger issue in the States. Cleaning up can be politically unpopular; but with gas over $3/gallon and the Bush foreign policy dominated (whether they acknowledge it or not) on foreign energy dependence, reform will have to take place soon.