Bush Climate Treaty Rejection Alienates Allies, Jeopardizes Planet

Environmental Defense today sharply criticized President Bush’s renewed rejection of the 1997 Kyoto climate treaty. The President’s statement on the eve of his departure for Europe is certain to provoke tensions with heads of state from Europe and Russia. Perhaps more importantly, it will likely result in a five- to ten-year delay in finding a global solution to climate change. In rejecting the treaty, the President has repudiated a decade of research and negotiations among more than 180 nations to establish a scientifically sound, cost-effective framework for limiting emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

“The Kyoto Protocol, by capping emissions from industrialized nations and setting up a worldwide market for reductions, offers the only timely, effective path forward. Research is not a substitute for action. Rejecting the Kyoto agreement without constructive alternatives is a historic failure on the overriding environmental issue of the 21st century,” said Environmental Defense executive director Fred Krupp. “Just days after the National Academy of Sciences, acting at the administration’s request, reported that global temperatures are already rising as a result of human activity, the President’s unilateral rejection of the Kyoto accord is stunningly illogical and seriously damages U.S. chances to win adoption of an American approach to global warming.”

“The administration should initiate a program of mandatory emissions reductions now, because greenhouse gases persist for decades in the atmosphere, warming the planet,” said Environmental Defense chief scientist Michael Oppenheimer. “The National Academy of Sciences confirmed that further buildup of greenhouse gases, with more warming and sea level rise, already is inevitable. Still, the extent of the future warming remains largely a matter of choice: If the U.S. and the world act quickly enough to bring down greenhouse emissions, the risk of catastrophe can be sharply reduced,” said Environmental Defense chief scientist Michael Oppenheimer.

“Major multinational companies, ranging from BP to DuPont, have brought their greenhouse gas emissions down and their profits up,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Joseph Goffman. “The administration’s policy is far behind what smart corporations worldwide have already recognized — that we can protect the world from dangerous climate change and maintain economic growth.”