UPDATE - Bush to announce Kyoto alternative today
Date: 14-Feb-02
Country: USA
"The president will make an announcement tomorrow about a new approach, new policy, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the world, led by the United States," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
Bush last year rejected the Kyoto treaty saying its emissions reductions would be too costly for the U.S. economy and that too many developing nations like China and India were exempt. His rejection of Kyoto stirred global anger that the United States, the world's biggest polluter, was unwilling to do its share to try to head off global warming.
Bush is expected to settle on a goal of gradually slowing U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases - rather than the tough mandatory reductions in emissions under the Kyoto accord - on grounds that to do otherwise would hurt the U.S. economy.
The basic Bush approach was outlined last week in a report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Bush leaves on Saturday on a trip to Japan, South Korea and China.
The economic advisers' report said a modest U.S. emissions goal could help improve the environment "without putting the economy at risk." It said an emissions reduction target could be indexed to economic output.
Global climate change experts have questioned linking emissions reductions to output, saying it was was tantamount to proposing continuos increases in U.S. emissions of heat-trapping gases and would not solve the problem.