June 07, 2007
G-8: U.S. To 'Seriously Consider' Emissions Goal
The world's largest industrialized nations were unable to persuade the United States to join them in a pledge to halve carbon emissions by 2050, but a decision by the U.S. to "seriously consider" that target was hailed as a victory by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations agreed: "In setting a global goal for emissions reductions in the process we have agreed today involving all major emitters, we will consider seriously the decisions made by the European Union, Canada and Japan which include at least a halving of global emissions by 2050."
The compromise means the United States and Russia, two longtime opponents of the kind of global climate pacts the other G-8 nations sought today, won't be held to the fire on their emissions. The United States in particular has argued such pacts are arbitrary and unreasonable for such a large producer, and has lately been pointing fingers at China, which will soon assume the title of world's No. 1 polluter.
Nicolas Sarkozy, in his first appearance at the G-8 as France's president, said President Bush should "make another effort," in remarks reported by Bloomberg News. "We must now set quantifiable targets on a global scale that the international scientific community has agreed on, and we must give ourselves the means to reach them," Sarkozy said.
The U.S. had signalled in the run-up to G-8 that it would not budge on the 2050 target, but Bush has also tried to smooth over tensions with remarks indicating a dramatically different position on climate change from the one he entered office with. In a speech last week, Bush promised a series of meetings with nations including China to hammer out a "long-term global goal" for emissions reduction.
And today, speaking with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush said the U.S. would "be actively involved, if not taking the lead, in a post-Kyoto framework, post-Kyoto agreement."
Longtime critics of Bush on climate change seem unlikely to be persuaded by his apparent transformation until results are actually seen. But with even China apparently beginning to acknowledge global warming as a danger, it might be fair to consider the possibility that Bush's new stance was borne of environmental realities rather than political maneuvering.
Posted at 1:08 PM
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Climate Change, G-8
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