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Bush's same-old climate policy goes international
June 4, 2007
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Just as he did with Iraq, Tony Blair has talked sense to Bush, and gotten him to moderate his position on global warming:
"Given our fundamental opposition to the German position, [and our view that] Carbon Markets' are fundamentally incompatible with the President's approach, we simply cannot agree to [the draft statement's] treatment of climate change [which] runs counter to our overall position and crosses multiple red lines." --written in red ink on leaked copy of draft statement of the summit's aims.
Bush has proposed that the 15 top emitters adopt the US approach from 2002. Then he set a goal for 2012. He is now proposing that the 15 top GHG emitters "set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases" for the period after 2012. This goal will have no enforcement mechanism. The 15 nations would also set "midterm national targets that reflect their own future energy needs." The targets would be voluntary and without any enforcement mechanism.
As a reminder, the 2002 US goal is to reduce GHG intensity 18% by 2012. However, the White House acknowledged that it believed GHG intensity would have declined 14% without any goal or program. (GHG intensity is the ratio of GHG emissions to GDP.)
Bush's new proposal reflects a new climate-change philosophy in the White House.
"I reaffirm America's commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention and it's central goal, to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate. Our immediate goal is to reduce America's greenhouse gas emissions. ... My approach recognizes that sustained economic growth is the solution, not the problem – because a nation that grows its economy is a nation that can afford investments in efficiency, new technologies, and a cleaner environment."
Oh, sorry, that was from February, 2002. Ok, this is from 2007:
I recognize that man is contributing greenhouse gases, -- but here are the principles by which I think we can get a good deal. One, anything that happens cannot hurt economic growth. (April 3) .... This new framework would help our nations fulfill our responsibilities under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. ... the best way to achieve, in our case, a couple of national objectives, energy security and economic security, as well as being good stewards of the environment, is a strong push for technologies. (May 31)
So there you have it. The guiding principle in 2002 was "economic growth comes first," and in 2007 it's exactly the same. In fact, the priorities now are (1) energy security, (2) economic growth, and (3) environment. The way to achieve economic growth while helping climate change is to push American technology. "And it's easier to afford expensive technologies if you're prosperous." --Bush, April 3, 2007.
"The way to meet this challenge of energy and global climate change is through technology, and the United States is in the lead. ... nations need to get rid of their tariffs, need to get rid of those barriers that prevent new technologies from coming into their countries. ... I am proud to be the President of such a good nation. Thanks for coming, and God bless." --May 31, 2007.
The greatest danger with current US energy policy is that "energy security" (importing less oil) is becoming, just as Bush declared, our #1 priority. We now have a "mandatory fuel standard that insists upon using 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels by 2017." Corn ethanol can only replace 12 billion gallons by 2017, and that will only reduce US GHG emissions by 15/100 of 1%. If negative feedback from the world oil market is included, an increase in emissions is virtually guaranteed. Cellulosic ethanol is still extremely uncertain. So now coal-to-liquids bills are being proposed to subsidize coal as the new source of "alternative fuels," and Bush has been leaning towards this interpretation. This would satisfy Bush's #1 priority, but would double CO2 emissions for the replaced gasoline.
Fact Sheet
Bush discusses agenda
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http://zfacts.com/p/835.html | 01/18/12 07:28 GMT
Modified: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 21:21:05 GMT
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