Friday, 18 December 2009
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Bush sets new CO2 emission target
 Mr Bush says new technology will help lower emissions |
US President George W Bush says he is setting an "ambitious" new target of halting growth in US greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
Citing new technology as the key, he said emissions in the US needed to reach a peak within 15 years and decline after that.
Environmentalists were quick to sharply criticise the new targets.
The three main challengers to replace Mr Bush in January all favour more aggressive climate change policies.
Legislation
Mr Bush said the new target should require emissions "well below" projections given in the 2002 climate strategy.
"There are a number of ways to achieve these reductions, but all responsible approaches depend on accelerating the development and deployment of new technologies."
 |  Under the president's plan we'll need a real miracle to save us from global warming  Carl Pope, Sierra Club |
He added: "If we fully implement our strong new laws, adhere to the principles I've outlined, and adopt appropriate incentives, we will put America on an ambitious new track for greenhouse gas reductions."
The new technology would combine with nuclear power and "clean coal" to help meet the targets, Mr Bush said.
However, there was no indication of any new legislation to target emitters, and his statement warned Congress not to pass laws that could "impose tremendous costs on our economy and American families".
The US took part in climate change talks in Bali, Indonesia, last year when it was agreed to work towards setting new targets by the end of 2009, ahead of the expiry of the Kyoto emissions agreement in 2012. The US always rejected Kyoto.
Environmentalists rounded on Mr Bush's new plan.
Carl Pope, the executive director of the largest US environmental group, the Sierra Club, said: "Under the president's plan we'll need a real miracle to save us from global warming."
The three rivals for the US presidency - John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - all favour tougher climate change policies.
They include a cap on industrial carbon dioxide gases and an emissions trading system like that in the European Union.
Saturday, 29 September 2007
Bush seeks flexible CO2 targets
 Mr Bush said the US was taking the climate change issue seriously |
Correspondents say Mr Bush's comments, at a meeting of the top 16 polluting nations, suggest the US may not agree to any internationally-binding cuts.
He also said combating climate change should not hinder economic growth.
Critics say the US position could dilute attempts to reach a global agreement through the UN, ahead of the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.
Mr Bush, who shortly after taking office in 2001 said he would not submit the protocol to Congress for ratification, has opposed mandatory cuts.
He has instead championed voluntary approaches - echoed by China and India.
'New approach'
Addressing the US-sponsored forum on energy security and climate change, Mr Bush said the two issues were "the great challenges of our time" which the US was taking seriously.
He urged the participants to jointly set a long-term goal for reducing the CO2 emissions that were causing the climate to heat up.
"By setting this goal, we acknowledge there is a problem. And by setting this goal, we commit ourselves to doing something about it," Mr Bush said.
He proposed to hold a summit next summer to finalise the goal and other key elements of what he described as "a new international approach" on CO2 gases.
Mr Bush also said such measures would help "advance negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change".
'Clean technologies'
But he stressed that it was possible to cut emissions without harming economies.
"Our guiding principle is clear - we must lead the world to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions and we must do it in a way that does not undermine economic growth or prevent nations from delivering greater prosperity for their people," he said.
He said developing clean energy technologies was the key to success, adding that the global demand for energy was expected to increase by 50% by 2030.
The president announced a new international clean technology fund to help developing countries take advantage of new greener methods of generating energy.
But Mr Bush again hinted that the US would not commit itself to mandatory CO2 cuts, despite growing pressure by some of the forum's participants.
"Each nation must decide for itself the right mix of tools and technology to achieve results that are measurable and environmentally effective," Mr Bush said.
The top UN climate official, Yvo de Boer, said he believed the discussions at the conference could feed back into the UN process.
Mr de Boer said it was crucial that industrialised nations committed to an approach that went "well beyond present efforts, given their historic responsibilities and economic capabilities".
Teams from Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Russia and the US were taking part in the Washington forum.
The meeting was called by the US as a precursor to UN talks in Indonesia in December, which will seek to launch a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
US seeks new greenhouse gas goals
|  Germany wants a 50% cut in emissions by 2050  |
Speech extracts He said he would hold meetings bringing together the US and 14 other major emitters, including developing nations, to set targets by the end of 2008.
Mr Bush was speaking ahead of next week's G8 summit, where Germany is expected to call for cuts in emissions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the US proposal, saying it was "common ground" for action.
BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin says Mr Bush's speech was short on details, and White House aides have made clear Mr Bush will oppose demands for the US to cut emissions and join a global carbon trading system.
The US seems to be trying to set up a separate framework on climate change talks outside the G8, our correspondent says.
Mrs Merkel has called for a major deal, including slowing the rise in average temperatures to 2C this century, by way of a cut in global emissions by 50% below 1990 levels by 2050.
Alternative approach
In his speech on Thursday in Washington, Mr Bush said his administration took climate change seriously.
"The United States will work with other nations to establish a new framework on greenhouse gas emissions for when the Kyoto protocol expires," he said.
To achieve this goal, he added, the US would hold a series of meetings bringing together "nations that produced most greenhouse gas emissions, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and China".
The US has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, which sets out targets on lowering emissions until 2012.
Mr Bush also repeated that solutions to the problem of global warming would be found through the development of new technologies.
"The United States is in the lead," he said. "The world is on the verge of great breakthroughs that will help us become better stewards of the environment."
The US president urged other nations to eliminate tariffs on clean energy technologies.
British PM Tony Blair hailed the announcement, saying the US was ready to be part of a global climate deal for the first time.
"It's a big step forward and sets the right framework for next week's meeting," Mr Blair said.
But a climate expert with the UK-based environmental group Greenpeace, Charlie Kronick, criticised the plan.
"The only way you can get a grip on carbon emissions is to cap and trade them globally," Mr Kronick told Reuters news agency.
The G8 summit will be held on 6-8 June in Heiligendamm in Germany.
