While there is no longer any serious debate in the scientific and business communities about whether global warming is real, the Bush Administration last week executed perhaps its most astonishing act of denial at the conclusion of a two-week international conference in Buenos Aires.
The UN conference, attended by some 6,200 government officials, NGO observers and journalists, aimed to begin the implementation process for the 132 nations that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and to begin planning further ways to mitigate the spread of greenhouse gases after Kyoto expires in 2012.
But the United States--the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases--all but told the conferees to take a walk. Besides blocking all efforts to conduct substantive discussions, the U.S. allied itself with none other than Saudi Arabia in obstructing efforts to create a system of payments to help poor, low-lying island nations cope with the cost of mitigating damage related to global warming, such as rising sea levels, land erosion and increased storm damage.
"Science tells us that we cannot say with any certainty what constitutes a dangerous level of warming, and therefore what level must be avoided," said Paula Dobriansky, head of the U.S. delegation.
"This is a new low for the United States, not just to pull out, but to block other countries from moving ahead on their own path," said Jeff Fiedler, a climate change expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council, in an interview with The New York Times. "It's almost spiteful to say 'You can't move ahead without us.' If you're not going to lead, then get out of the way," added Fiedler, who attended the conference as an observer. [1]
Addressing the U.S. support of Saudi Arabia's obstruction of aid to countries most vulnerable to the effects of global warming--e.g. Pacific island states such as the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati and Tuvalu, and Caribbean nations such as Barbados and the Bahamas--Greenpeace observer Steve Sawyer told the Environmental News Service that "We hope everyone has taken note of the bullying tactics of the USA at these negotiations. This...ensures that there will not be the kind of progress we need on negotiations of future emissions cuts during the next 12 months." [2]
The New York Times report concluded by noting that the Bush delegation even opposed further use of the term "climate change," arguing instead for the much vaguer "climate variability." [3]
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SOURCES:
[1] "U.S. Waters Down Global Commitment to Curb Greenhouse Gases," New York Times, Dec. 19, 2004.
[2] "Climate Talks Inch Forward Obstructed by U.S.," Environmental News Service, Dec. 20, 2004.
[3] New York Times, op. cit.
