Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 2 • Number 3 • 21st February 2002
US Climate Policy Met with Disappointment
US Climate Policy Met with Disappointment
US President George W. Bush’s proposed plan released on 14 February to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other pollutants was met with widespread criticism by the conservation community for the lack of mandatory measures to reduce GHGs. Their calls to urgently address global warming were supported by two new reports that highlight the possible threats of climate change to biodiversity.
US climate policy seen as too weak
Environmental groups sharply criticised Bush’s climate policy, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through voluntary action. The plan links a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions — a GHG linked to global warming — to growth in US gross domestic product (GDP) by setting a goal of reducing emissions from 183 to 151 metric tons per million dollars in GDP by 2012. According to Friends of the Earth International (FoEI), such a ceiling would actually allow for continued increases in US GHG emissions. “The US is the world’s biggest polluter,” said Kate Hampton of FoEI. “It is outrageous that President Bush is still refusing to cut emissions in order to avoid upsetting the powerful US fossil fuel lobby.” In addition to the voluntary reduction of GHGs, Bush’s proposal includes cutting emissions of three of the worst air pollutants — sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury — by setting emission limits and assigning tradable permits per tonne of pollution.
Reports stress threat of global warming for biodiversity
The plan comes shortly after the release of two new reports that highlight the significant threats to wildlife and biodiversity posed by global warming. Examining the potential effects of climate change on biodiversity-rich areas, a study by the conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) concludes that a substantial part of the world’s species are at risk and warns that many species might not be able to move into new areas on time, possibly resulting in a “catastrophic” loss of species in one-fifth of the world’s most vulnerable nature areas. Similar conclusions are also drawn in a report by the US National Wildlife Federation (NWF), which uses eight case studies to look at the threat of global warming on US wildlife. “Global warming has come down to Earth for the wildlife right in our backyards,” said Mark Van Putten, President of NWF. “The effects are already happening and will likely worsen unless we get serious about reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases to help slow global warming.”
Bush’s rejection of the Kyoto Protocol — the international treaty designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent by 2012 — in March last year evoked international outrage among governments and environmental groups (see BRIDGES Weekly, 27 March 2001). As a result, many conservation groups have stepped up their efforts to convince governments to meet the emissions targets mandated in the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol will only enter into force once it has been ratified by 55 parties representing 55 percent of GHG emissions (see BRIDGES Weekly, 28 November 2000).
“Bush offers alternative plan on “greenhouse gases”,” REUTERS, 18 February 2001; “Bush climate plan disappoints as UN meeting ends,” REUTERS, 18 February 2002; “Bush’s climate con,” FoIE PRESS RELEASE, 14 February 2002.