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Bush Softens Stance on Global Warming, but Still Rejects Kyoto Deal

Posted on: Monday, 4 July 2005, 09:00 CDT

GEORGE Bush's hardline opposition to measures to tackle climate change appeared to be softening last night, after the United States president acknowledged that global warming is a "significant issue" that the world will have to tackle.

But in an interview to be broadcast this evening - in which he warned Tony Blair not to expect any favours from him at Gleneagles - Mr Bush said that America will continue to refuse to sign up to the Kyoto agreement on cutting carbon emissions.

Mr Blair is close to achieving the agreement he wants from the leaders of the world's biggest economies on debt relief for Africa at the summit.

But Mr Bush's interview demonstrates that the Prime Minister will struggle to get the US to sign up to one of the other major priorities for the summit: action on global warming.

In the interview with ITV1's Tonight With Trevor McDonald, Mr Bush ruled out committing America to any legally binding limit on carbon emissions, like those adopted in Kyoto in 1997, but never ratified by Washington.

However, he showed signs of coming into line with global scientific opinion on the issue, describing climate change as "a significant, long-term issue that we've got to deal with" and acknowledging that human activity is "to some extent" to blame.

Mr Bush made it clear that he regarded new technology as the key to halting global warming. And he indicated that he believed the Prime Minister was ready to "move beyond the Kyoto agenda" and focus on techniques such as placing carbon dioxide in underground wells rather than on a regime of limits on emissions.

Mr Bush said: "If this looks like Kyoto, the answer is no. The Kyoto Treaty would have wrecked our economy, if I can be blunt." He said he wanted to talk to fellow G8 leaders about developing new technologies to limit climate change without reducing the availability of energy to individuals and businesses.

Mr Bush highlighted his administration's dollars 20 billion (GBP 11.3 billion) investment in developing technologies such as hydrogen- powered cars and zero-emission power stations. "You can grow your economy and at the same time do a better job of harnessing greenhouse gases," he said.

Asked if he would make a special effort to help Mr Blair at the summit in return for his support over Iraq, Mr Bush replied: "I really don't view our relationship as one of quid pro quo. Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did. So I go to the G8 not really trying to make him look bad or good, but I go to the G8 with an agenda that I think is best for our country."

On Africa, Mr Bush brushed off campaigners' complaints that his decision to double development aid by 2010 was too little, too late and insisted the US was "leading the world" on this issue.

Source: Scotsman, The

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