[NYTr] Env: Europeans angry after Bush climate speech 'charade'

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

The Guardian - Sep 29, 2007
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/sep/29/usnews.climatechange

Europeans angry after Bush climate speech 'charade'

* US isolated as China and India refuse to back policy
* President claims he can lead world on emissions

George Bush was castigated by European diplomats and found himself
isolated yesterday after a special conference on climate change ended
without any progress.

European ministers, diplomats and officials attending the Washington
conference were scathing, particularly in private, over Mr Bush's
failure once again to commit to binding action on climate change.

Although the US and Britain have been at odds over the environment since
the early days of the Bush administration, the gap has never been as
wide as yesterday.

Britain and almost all other European countries, including Germany and
France, want mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse emissions. Mr
Bush, while talking yesterday about a "new approach" and "a historic
undertaking", remains totally opposed.

The conference, attended by more than 20 countries, including China,
India, Britain, France and Germany, broke up with the US isolated,
according to non-Americans attending. One of those present said even
China and India, two of the biggest polluters, accepted that the
voluntary approach proposed by the US was untenable and favoured
binding measures, even though they disagreed with the Europeans over
how this would be achieved.

A senior European diplomat attending the conference, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said the meeting confirmed European suspicions
that it had been intended by Mr Bush as a spoiler for a major UN
conference on climate change in Bali in December.

"It was a total charade and has been exposed as a charade," the diplomat
said. "I have never heard a more humiliating speech by a major leader.
He [Mr Bush] was trying to present himself as a leader while showing no
sign of leadership. It was a total failure."

John Ashton, Britain's special envoy on climate change, who attended the
conference, said: "It is striking here how isolated the US has become on
this issue. There is no support among the industrialised countries for
the proposition that we should proceed on the basis of voluntary
commitments.

"The most inspiring example of leadership this week was the speech on
Monday at the UN by Arnold Schwarzenegger."

The governor of California is already putting into action in the state
policies to reduce carbon emissions.

Other European governments expressed similar sentiments.

Although many of those attending had predicted the conference would
break up without significant agreement, there had been hopes that Mr
Bush, in search of a legacy, might produce a surprise. Instead, he
stuck to his previous position, shunning mandatory caps in favour of
clean coal, nuclear power and developing clean energy technology.

In contrast with the early years of his presidency when he expressed
scepticism about climate change and whether humans were responsible, Mr
Bush acknowledged yesterday "energy security and climate change are two
of the great challenges of our time. The United States takes these
challenges seriously."

He added: "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."

Instead of mandatory caps, he emphasised a need to shift to clean coal,
nuclear energy and new clean technology. He also proposed a new
international technology fund but did not say how much the US would put
into it. He reiterated a need for Americans to shift from oil to ethanol
for their cars. "We're working to develop next-generation plug-in
hybrids that will be able to travel nearly 40 miles without using a
drop of gasoline. And your automobile doesn't have to look like a golf
cart," he said.

Elizabeth Bast, of Friends of the Earth, described the conference as a
diversion. "We have heard it before. He put a huge emphasis on
technology and does not speak to binding targets, and there is a great
emphasis on coal and nuclear energy," she said.

Backstory

Many US states have embarked on their own programmes, with California
leading the way. The governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has signed a law
requiring a 25% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, with penalties
for industries that do not comply. California's three biggest utilities
must produce at least 20% of their electricity using renewable sources
by 2010.