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Activists: U.S. to reject climate deal By DAVID STRINGER, Associated

Press Writer

2 hours, 16 minutes ago

 

 

 

LONDON - The United States is preparing to reject new targets on

climate change at a Group of Eight summit next month, dashing German

and British hopes for a new global pact on carbon emissions, according

to comments on a document released by the environmental group

Greenpeace.

 

 

 

The White House on Saturday declined to confirm the comments were from

U.S. officials, but said discussions continued about what the G-8

leaders will say.

 

" Our challenge and opportunity is in developing an approach that is

appropriate and conducive to all these major emitting countries, " said

Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, holding the rotating presidency of

both the G-8 bloc of industrialized nations and the European

Union, wants the June meeting to agree to targets for cuts in

greenhouse gas output and a timetable for a major agreement on

emissions reduction to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

 

But unattributed comments written on a draft summit communique, which

Greenpeace said were written by U.S. officials and handed to it by an

undisclosed third party, suggest the White House has major

reservations.

 

" The U.S. still has serious, fundamental concerns about this draft

statement, " the notes on the document read. " The treatment of climate

change runs counter to our overall position and crosses multiple 'red

lines' in terms of what we simply cannot agree to. "

 

The 27 EU members have agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20

percent by 2020 - building on Kyoto, which runs through 2012 - and by

30 percent if a broader international agreement can be reached.

 

Though Merkel and outgoing British leader Tony Blair - who made

climate change a key priority for his final weeks in office - have

pressed President Bush to back a new agreement, the document

claimed the White House is " fundamentally opposed " to many of the

European objectives.

 

The U.S., the world's biggest polluter, did not ratify the Kyoto

agreement through which developed countries agreed to cut emissions by

5 percent below their 1990 level by 2012.

 

Merkel is seeking to win agreements for a global reduction in

emissions of 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 and bold commitments

to energy efficiency strategies at the summit in Heiligendamm, on

Germany's Baltic Sea coast, June 6-8.

 

The draft communique also included a commitment to curb the rise in

average temperatures this century to 3.6 degrees, said Greenpeace -

which has published two leaked versions of the document. Without

significant efforts, the rise is estimated to rise as much as 11

degrees, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

 

Following talks in Washington with Bush on May 17, Blair said he

believed " it is possible that we will see action - and at least the

beginnings of that action at the G-8. "

 

On Saturday, Perino said G-8 nations agree that climate change,

sustainable development, economic growth and energy security must be

addressed at the same time.

 

" It's important to note there is a lot that we agree on, " she said.

" All G-8 countries are committed to pursuing an agreement. We just

come at it from different perspectives. "

 

James Turner, a Greenpeace spokesman, said the group was confident the

leaked comments were made by a U.S. official. " The document is from a

stable and trusted source, " he said.

 

Merkel on Thursday acknowledged negotiations could be problematic. " On

the international level, the array of interests is more

contradictory, " she said. " I don't yet know, if there will be a

success in Heiligendamm, " where the G-8 summit is being held.

 

The comments Greenpeace attributed to U.S. officials said the White

House had " never agreed to any of the climate language present " in the

draft communique.

 

" We have tried to 'tread lightly' but there is only so far we can go

given our fundamental opposition to the German position, " read the

comments.

 

Germany's minister for the environment, Sigmar Gabriel, warned in

remarks released Saturday that the U.S. stance could create problems

for successful talks at the upcoming G-8 summit.

 

" Discussions will be more than difficult, " Gabriel told the

Frankfurter Allgemeine's Sunday edition. " Although many in the USA

would like to see a different policy toward global warming, the

administration in Washington has not embraced this movement. For that

reason, success in Heiligendamm will be very difficult. "

 

____

 

Associated Press Writer Melissa Eddy in Berlin contributed to this

report.

 

 

“The Earth is not dying - she is being killed. And those who are killing her

have names and addresses.†— Utah Phillips