George W. Bush - climate saviour or sinner?

09 June 2007
From New Scientist Print Edition.

PRESIDENT George W. Bush a climate-change saviour? Remarkable as it seems, that was the opinion of some G8 leaders meeting in Germany this week as they prepared to issue a climate statement on Friday. However, others claim Bush's offer to chair talks on voluntary targets next year is in fact designed to wreck delicate UN negotiations.

British delegates hailed Bush's speech last week as the first time the US has committed to future targets on carbon dioxide emissions. In contrast, the Germans say that Bush is trying to sideline the long-established UN process of negotiating mandatory CO2 emissions cuts, which will resume in December.

"The Germans say Bush is trying to sideline the long-established UN negotiations"On Monday, UK environment secretary David Miliband appeared to offer the US a middle way that would allow it to make a commitment on its own terms, based on its existing obligation under the 1992 UN convention to prevent "dangerous climate change". Bush could, Miliband said, commit the US to a specific target for stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations, based on a scientific assessment of what would be needed to prevent dangerous climate change.

However, Bush's stance may be hardened this week by the publication of China's first national plan on climate change. China refuses to accept emissions targets and argues that it is under no obligation to do so, since if all rich nations reduced their per-capita CO2 emissions to those of China today, there would be no climate change problem.