Schroeder, Bush disagree on Kyoto treaty

Schroeder, Bush disagree on Kyoto treaty
Reuters

MAR 30: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Thursday he and President George W Bush agreed on "practically everything" except the Kyoto global warming treaty.

"We agreed on practically everything except ... the Kyoto protocol," Schroeder, speaking through an interpreter, told reporters as he and Bush met in the White House Oval Office.

The two leaders met a day after the administration said Bush unequivocally opposed the 1997 Kyoto pact, which aims to reduce major industrialized nations' greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 to avoid disastrous weather changes around the world.

The United States is the biggest producer of man-made carbon dioxide emissions, which many scientists say is the main greenhouse gas causing global warming. The gases are emitted by power plants, automobiles and other industrial plants.

Meanwhile a report from Beijing said China added its voice on Friday to the global chorus criticising the US rejection of a treaty on global warning, calling President George W Bush's decision "irresponsible".

"The US announcement that it will not meet its emission reduction duties, citing the lack of obligations on developing countries, violates the principled rules of the Kyoto Protocol and is irresponsible," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Bush said this week he would no longer back the international accord to cut greenhouse gas emissions that was reached in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Washington signed the Kyoto Protocol, but it has not been ratified by the US Senate.

The Kyoto pact aims to reduce major industrialised nations' emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 to avoid disastrous global weather changes.

Bush opposes the pact because it does not also bind developing nations to curb emissions and because he believes the costs outweigh the benefits, said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

The foreign ministry statement reiterated China's stance that developed countries should take the lead in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

"The main source of greenhouse gases are the developed countries and the priority task of developing countries is to develop their economies and eliminate poverty," it said.

China, the world's most populous country, was described in Kyoto as one of the largest total emitters of carbon dioxide, although per capita emissions are much lower than in the rich countries.

Much of China's energy comes from coal-burning plants, which fill the urban skies with sulphurous smog, putting its cities at the top the list of the world's most polluted cities.

The United States is the biggest producer of emissions of man-made carbon dioxide, which many scientists say is the main greenhouse gas causing global warming. The gases are emitted by power plants, automobiles and other industrial plants.

The Bush administration's flat rejection of the Kyoto treaty has prompted an outcry from Japan, the European Union, Britain and Australia.

Some small island states in the Pacific Ocean also criticised the US move, saying global warming has triggered rising sea levels that threaten their existence.