US Climate Change Announcement
On Thursday 31 May, President George Bush announced a new ‘global strategy’ for tackling climate change. He said, ‘the United States will work with other nations to establish a new framework on greenhouse gas emissions for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.’
He explained that this will involve the US and other nations setting a long-term global goal for reducing emissions by the end of 2008. Increased investments in new and cleaner technology is at the heart of the proposal.
To this end, the US will convene a series of meetings with countries that produce most greenhouse gas emissions - including nations like India and China who have rapidly growing economies.
Tearfund’s Response
Tearfund is seriously concerned that this new announcement will undermine talks that are already underway at the UN, talks that are due to be a central focus of next week’s G8 Summit in Germany (6 – 8 June).
Germany, supported by the UK, is pushing for G8 leaders to commit to keep global temperature rise below 2C, and to achieve 50 per cent cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. If agreed, this framework would set the scene for the next critical UN conference in Bali in December and hold out the prospect for real progress.
Leaked G8 documents reveal that the US has consistently opposed these targets and yesterday’s speech gives no indication of what the proposed ‘long-term global goal’ would be. Instead President Bush is suggesting a separate process. It is unclear how this would link with existing talks within the UN, and indeed it offers every prospect of dangerously undermining them.
Whilst President Bush’s public commitment to a global deal on climate change is a clear step forward for the US administration, its announcement seems deliberately calculated to undermine any prospect of real progress on tackling climate change at the G8 summit next week.
Tearfund will be in Germany for the G8. Watch this space for news and opinion direct from the summit.