Bush 'must not stand in the way of new Kyoto deal'

[cal04]

George Bush must not be allowed to stand in the way of a new international agreement to combat climate change, a former Blairite cabinet minister told world leaders. Stephen Byers, the former environment secretary, was at a world conference in Montreal to promote a policy that is guaranteed to infuriate US airlines. He wants EU regulations on carbon emissions to apply to all US aircraft that use European airports - which would add millions of pounds to the cost of transatlantic flights, one of the most profitable sectors for the big US airlines. The proposal would force US operators either to cut carbon emissions, or pay a levy that will be used to reward European businesses that run clean operations.

The plan will be fiercely opposed by the Bush administration, and will ring alarm bells in Downing Street. Having persuaded George Bush to take part in talks on climate change at the Gleneagles summit in July, Tony Blair would like to keep the US involved in the process of cutting carbon emissions, although environmentalists have warned that trying to keep the US on side could make any meaningful agreement impossible. Mr Byers, who now chairs the International Climate Change Taskforce, suggested a deadline of May 2009 for a new international agreement to replace the one reached in Kyoto, which runs out in 2012. The US has never signed the Kyoto protocol, which commits the nations involved to act to reduce carbon emissions, because its government says that it is bad for business. Mr Byers said that other nations should go ahead without them, hinting that US policy might change when the Bush presidency ends in January 2009.

"All around the world we are now witnessing the often-devastating effects of global warming," Mr Byers said. "Over the next 24 hours, a way forward needs to be found, here in Montreal, to deliver a post-2012 agreement. If phase one of Kyoto comes to an end without an adequate successor, our ability to avoid dangerous climate change will be dramatically diminished. "The Bush Administration's statement that it will not be part of any new commitments on climate change shows that there is little to be gained by seeking to engage the US at this stage. "The US could rejoin the international community's response to climate change after 2008, if the momentum continues to build for mandatory action to reduce emissions. That is why we have proposed a date of May 2009 for the completion of negotiations on what should happen after the first phase of the Kyoto protocol ends in 2012. "Meanwhile, President Bush must not be allowed to block the rest of the world moving forwards in a meaningful way."

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article331973.ece

[Dead_Parrot]

1. Wow

Never thought I'd live long enough to hear "pants on fire" Byers make sense. We live in strange and disturbing times...

[phantom power]

2. BushCo can only hold Kyoto hostage if they let it.

One thing I can give Bush and his minions "credit" for: they've actually made their intentions crystal clear: They not only refuse to support Kyoto, they are going to actively fight it with everything in their considerable power.

So, now that the rest of the world knows where BushCo stands, their choice is equally clear. They can either begin solving this important problem without the U.S., or they can choose to also not do anything.

That's very, very unfair. But life isn't much about fair and unfair, it's mostly about actions and consequences.

[kitkatrose]

3. The really crappy part about it,

is that their changes may not mean diddly if we keep going the way we are. :(

As much as I love being an (aspiring) environmental scientist, sometimes, this depresses the hell out of me. :(

[rfkrfk]

4. the amusement-park economies of the EU would collapse ...

the US would reply in kind, if the EU imposes some type of
Kyoto tax on US airlines.
killing off the trans-Atlantic tourist trade.