LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - A high ranking U.S. negotiator on
climate change has slammed critics of the Clinton administration
who complain that the United States is not doing enough to curb
greenhouse gas emissions.
At a conference on the Kyoto Protocol in London on Tuesday,
Ambassador Mark Hambley, U.S. special negotiator for climate
change, said the United States was taking the fight on climate
change "seriously" and was committed to an equitable gobal
solution.
"The United States at a federal, state, local and corporate
levels is taking considerable action in recognition of our
obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change," he told the conference.
He also rubbished allegations by leading environmental groups and
other governments party to global climate negotiatons that the
U.S. will seek to use certain "technical" loopholes contained in
the global treaty to avoid taking action at home.
Some critics believe Washington is out to scupper the Kyoto
Protocol altogether because it fears its potential economic
impact and gives developing countries such as China and India a
competitive edge.
"Since Kyoto, we have been asked some basic questions routinely
only to have the sincerity of our answers or the motivations
underlying our responses ignored," said Hambley, who has been
involved in climate change negotiations for five years.
"Obviously our message is not getting across, it either suffers
from credibility, or is an indication of the kind of company we
keep."
In a spirited defense of his administration's policies to date,
Hambley catalogued initiatives the government had undertaken so
far.
He also cited evidence "decoupling a rise in emissions from
economic growth.
"The bottom line is that in 1998, total emissions of greenhouse
gases grew by 0.2 percent in the U.S. from their 1997 level in
comparison with an economy that grew by 3.9 percent."
CULTURE ON EMISSIONS CHANGING
At the federal level, he said a recent presidential executive
order requires the federal government -- the largest energy
consumer in the U.S. -- to slash greenhouse gases to 30 percent
below their 1990 levels by 2010.
A second order that deals with biomass production aims to shift
energy based on "geology" to energy based on "biology" with the
aim to save 200 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions
by 2010.
Other initiatives include a U.S. Department of Energy plan to
issue mandatory efficiency standards on four products: water,
heaters, clothes washers, central air conditioning and florescent
lighting ballasts.
"The new standards are expected to save consumers $30 billion,
while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by eight million metric
tonnes per yer by 2010 and by 20 million metric tonnes by 2020,"
Hambley said.
Under renewable projects, wind energy as a power source would be
bumped up to five percent of all U.S. energy output by 2005,
while a voluntary scheme aims to realise one million solar roofs
on American homes by the year 2010.
Hambley said state and local governments too were taking action.
New Jersey, he said, had taken upon itself to cut greenhouse gas
emissions by 3.5 percent below 1990 levels by 2005; Oregon is
capping emissions generated by power plants and California has
instituted multiple energy options for consumers.
Moreover California, said the ambassador, is only one of 28
states that require that some portion of their electrical power
needs to be generated by renewable sources. Thirty four other
states are preparing their own green house gas inventories as a
step towards mitigating the effects.
Cities and municipalties have also entered the struggle. Hambley
pointed to 60 leading municipalties that have associated
themselves with the "Cities for Climate Protection".
Hambley spoke of 600 leading municipal leaders that recognize the
seriousness of the global climate change challenge and pointed to
pledges from corporate America -- over 40 large and medium sized
companies -- to clean up its act.
****************************************************************
To post a submission by email at climate-newswire@sidsnet.org
To unsubscribe, email to majordomo@sidsnet.org with the message:
unsubscribe climate-newswire
To receive updates via email, send an email to majordomo@sidsnet.org with the message:
subscribe climate-newswire
No SUBJECTS required either case.
Brought to you on the SMALL Island Developing States Network: http://www.sidsnet.org
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Jun 21 2000 - 15:12:56 EDT