Air Date: Week of July 22, 2001

Commentator Glenn Kelly, executive director of the Climate Change Coalition, offers his view on the negotiations in Bonn from a U.S. perspective.

Transcript

KELLY: While the climate discussions here in Bonn remain a work in progress, the deal that appears to be in the works will do nothing to get the international community out of the Kyoto quagmire.

CURWOOD: Glen Kelly is executive director of the Global Climate Coalition.

KELLY: The proposal does nothing to address the issues cited by the United States Senate when it voted 95-0 against the Kyoto approach in 1997. It is clear that President Bush's rejection of this fatally flawed process in favor of a global, technology-based approach, makes more sense than ever. The deal is unfair to American taxpayers because it would increase consumer costs, and possibly taxes. Meanwhile, Kyoto continues to exempt developing nations from reducing their emissions. China, for instance, is the second largest emitter, and is on track to take over the lead in a few years. India is not far behind, and yet they and other are still exempted. The deal is also unworkable. The United States for example would be forced to reduce energy use by approximately forty percent under the Kyoto protocol. Europe and Japan face similar reduction targets, and they each know from credible analyses that they can't meet their obligations. The new U.S. administration had a choice to make. Continue talking about the problem at international conferences, without any hope of achieving a solution, or reevaluating the fundamental approach at hand. By rejecting Kyoto and proposing a bold, visionary approach to the climate issue based on sound science, market principles, technology solutions, and global participation, President Bush has challenged the world community to rise to the occasion and recognize that the Kyoto quagmire has doomed nations to endless negotiations over a fatally flawed treaty. Although delegates here in Bonn refuse to accept this fact, we should all hope that by the next time they gather in Marrakech later this year, they will be prepared to work constructively with the United States toward a more achievable, more effective approach to climate policy for this and future generations.

CURWOOD: Glen Kelly is executive director of the Global Climate Coalition, an industry association in the United States.

Coming up, German technology leads the way in the fight against climate disruption. First this technology note from Cynthia Graber.

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