President George W. Bush reneges on campaign promise

An extremely unfortunate development that threatens to halt and even reverse progress in the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol for mitigation of climate change, has been created by none other than the President of the US. President George W. Bush in a reversal of his campaign promise of September 29 wrote a letter last week to four conservative senators stating that he would take no action for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants in the US. As it happens, 50% of the power generated in the US uses coal, which makes the US the largest user of coal per capita, ahead of China and India. Utterly devoid of logic is President George W. Bush?s statement on the Kyoto Protocol that it "exempts 80% of the world including, major population centres such as China and India, from compliance, and would cause serious harm to the US economy". President Bush apparently ignores the fact that the threat of climate change comes not from the over two billion people of China and India walking barefoot on the earth, but from the huge concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG)?of which carbon dioxide is the most important?created by the US and other developed countries. Either the US President does not know the facts or has deliberately obscured them, because his country has less than 5% of the world?s population but is responsible for 24% of the global emissions of carbon dioxide. The President?s action also goes against the very construct and principles on which the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) was agreed to and signed by his own father as President in 1992. The FCCC enshrines "the common but differentiated responsibility" of different countries for action to be taken to mitigate climate change. By requiring action from China and India, the US President is today tilting the differentiated responsibility in the wrong direction, expecting the poorest nations on earth to carry the burden of environmental damage by the richest. One observation highlighted in President Bush?s letter refers to the energy shortages being experienced in California and other western states, and that the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide from existing power plants may lead to higher energy prices, presumably because some plants may switch to the use of natural gas, prices of which have trebled and quadrupled in recent months. Actually, a supply side response to higher prices that could soon lead to greater production of natural gas to meet increased demand which, in due course, will bring down prices. At any rate, the very argument that a rich country like US cannot bear higher costs of energy, while poor countries like China and India, specifically mentioned by the US President, must do so shows total disregard for the plight of the poor. Clearly, the US President has lost the moral right to even talk about poverty alleviation in the world when through his actions he is really driving developing countries to greater poverty by shifting his own country?s burden on them. Perhaps, George W. Bush is not aware of the fact that in per capita terms some of the countries of South Asia, for instance, use barely 1/40th to 1/50th of the commercial energy consumed by the US. The implications of the new US administration?s stand are serious and frightening. Firstly, George W. Bush?s stand seriously imperils the session of the conference of the parties to the FCCC to be resumed in July. It is unlikely that the Kyoto Protocol will receive ratification and take effect, without the involvement of the US. Secondly, the US President?s statement about, "the incomplete state of scientific knowledge of the causes of, and solutions to, global climate change", clearly ignores the mounting evidence produced by the efforts of over two thousand scientists and specialists as the Third Assessment Report of the IPCC. Fortunately, many in the public and even conservative corporate organizations in the US are now convinced of the scientific basis for climate change and would not only support political action, but in the case of corporate entities, are willing to take voluntary action in limiting the emissions of GHGs entirely on their own. Prof. Jacoby of MIT has been quoted as saying that, "It is clear that this administration won?t be able to go four years without dealing with this". Whether this administration takes action in its current term or not is perhaps not as important as the fact that this administration may not last beyond one term. It is, therefore, time for sane voices around the world to mobilize the strength of public opinion and provide the extreme right conservative functionaries of the US administration, including the President, demonstrations similar to those seen in Seattle, Washington DC and Prague. The power of the internet and concerted action by responsible groups all over the world must exert pressure on the US administration to get off the path of changing the climate of the world, and shifting the burden of action to those who are not responsible for the damage. It is unfortunate that the beginning of the 21st century sees such an abdication of moral responsibility by the strongest nation on earth. It is, therefore time for the meek to inherit the earth and show the rich and mighty that they must change their consumerist lifestyles.