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Politics

Climate guests don't warm to speech

By Washington Post
Published September 29, 2007

WASHINGTON - President Bush assured the rest of the world Friday that he takes the threat of climate change seriously and vowed that the United States "will do its part" to reduce the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet, but he proposed no concrete new initiatives to reach that goal.

The president's speech at a conference of major economic powers represented a symbolic turn for a leader who once expressed doubt about global warming and angered foreign partners by renouncing the Kyoto treaty. After nearly seven years on the defensive, Bush tried to assume a leadership role in crafting "a new international approach" to preserving the world's climate.

Yet he found himself largely isolated at a meeting that he had organized to address the issue, lambasted by foreign officials, U.S. lawmakers and environmental activists who saw his effort as more show than substance.

Although critics welcomed his newfound attention to the dangers of shifting climatological conditions, they complained that it would not add up to anything unless he reverses himself and embraces some form of mandatory limit on emissions, something he did not do Friday.

Instead, he touted technology as the ultimate solution, citing ideas he has promoted for years, such as cleaner coal production; more nuclear, solar and wind power; additional ethanol as a substitute for gasoline; and increased vehicle fuel-efficiency standards.

"I want to get the job done," he told hundreds of envoys, lobbyists and activists. "We have identified a problem. Let's go solve it together."

Bush said he wants to forge an agreement with other heads of state by next summer setting a long-term goal for reducing emissions, but each nation would decide how to meet it.

The much-anticipated speech disappointed critics looking for more tangible proposals. Daniel Weiss, an analyst at the liberal Center for American Progress, said Bush essentially was relying "on waving a magic technology wand" with measures that "won't make a dent in global warming."

John Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace USA, said Bush's speech underscored "his do-nothing approach to global warming" and proved that "his position is a lie" that no one believes.

"The president says his goals are aspirational, but his goals are really procrastinational," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., chairman of a new House committee on global warming.

Everton Vargas, the head of Brazil's delegation, said Bush "didn't bring any new ideas, any new proposals (to) the U.S. position. What we saw was more of a reiteration of what we have heard before."

John Ashton, Britain's special representative for climate change, said "what has emerged at this conference, and also at the United Nations, is how isolated the administration is now on this issue, especially on the issue of mandatory targets."

Some delegates said they must turn to Congress for leadership.

[Last modified September 29, 2007, 01:10:56]