US not likely to budge on emissions cuts

26 May 2009

1

Domestic politics will likely trump carbon cutting commitment in the US over the next decade despite growing international pressure, according to Washington's top climate negotiator.

He said the US is doing just about as much as the political system will allow, Todd Stem, US Special Envoy for Climate Change said rejecting China's call that rich nations slash their greenhouse gases by 40 per cent before 2020, compared to 1990 levels.

He dismissed the Chinese call for a 40-per cent cut as not realistic, prior to a two-day climate meeting that began this week on Monday. The meeting of ministers from the world's most powerful economies will discuss a host of issues related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

Another meeting of MEF (Major Economies Forum) members which together account for 80 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, on Energy and Climate, will be held in July, in Italy, Stern said. This will probably happen on the heels of the G8 summit he added.

US president Barack Obama has proposed cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 14 per cent by 2020, compared to their 2005 level, which roughly works out to a three percent cut off the 1990 benchmark. He also called for an 80 per cent cut by 2050.

However, in the run up to UN talks in Copenhagen to be held in December that aim to forge a new global climate deal, developing nations such as China and India have said that this was not enough.

Their position has received support of many climate experts as well as the European Union, which has committed to a 20 per cent reduction by 2020.

France's environ minister, Jean-Louis Borloo, said "It is clear that the United States is going to have to do more.'' Stern however, said that pushing for deeper cuts in the US could backfire.

He said that the US government was in agreement that it was vital for developed countries to get a path that is ambitious and consistent with what science was suggesting needed to be done. But he said the in the pursuit of perfection one could end up with nothing and what was good enough needed to be accepted.

Even while rejecting China's position, though, he said both Beijing and Washington had set up mechanisms for addressing a wide range of bilateral issues on climate change.

Meanwhile, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in China on Sunday. She will join Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry at a clean energy forum in Beijing later in the week.

Other top Obama administration officials that have tread the China trail on climate change issues include Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton; Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is set to visit China in June.

Stern himself is scheduled to take part in a three-day "interagency" trip next month, during which he will have talks with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua and other officials.

"We mean to have very in-depth conversations with respect to climate change per se, and our hope and intention of developing a very, very robust, high-octane clean energy partnership with the Chinese," he said.

He added it was also critical for the UN process: "It is extremely important that the US and China be working together - and be seen working together.''

Business History Videos

History of hovercraft Part 3...

Today I shall talk a bit more about the military plans for ...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of hovercraft Part 2...

In this episode of our history of hovercraft, we shall exam...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Hovercraft Part 1...

If you’ve been a James Bond movie fan, you may recall seein...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Trams in India | ...

The video I am presenting to you is based on a script writt...

By Aniket Gupta | Presenter: Sheetal Gaikwad

view more