Environmental groups accuse America of faking global warming

08-Dec-2003: By planets-voice.org correspondent Singy Hanyona in Milan, Italy --- The Bush Administration is trying to market the same inadequate approach here at the UNFCCC COP9 in Milan, that they have taken at home, strongly opposing any binding emissions targets and claiming to have a better approach," said Jeff Fiedler, Climate Policy Specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, before the high-level segment of the Climate Conference.

"It is a waste of time to constructively engage with this Administration and countries should not be tricked by their smooth rhetoric. "Countries around the world must not take the Bush Administration seriously on global warming," said Jennifer Morgan, director of WWF’s Climate Change Programme.
The Bush Adminstration’s fiscal year (2004) on climate change spending request, totals more than $4.3 billion per year. Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center for Global Climate Change, says without the U.S, the Kyoto protocol will cover just 40 per cent of global emissions, and only through the coming decades.
“So whether Kyoto protocol enters into force into force or not, the challenge ahead remains the same: engaging all emitters in a longer-term effort that fairly and effectively mobilises the resources and technology needed to protect the global climate”, said Claussen.
A Policy statement issued by U.S Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, for COP 9, indicate that the U.S is “not here to debate the wisdom of the Kyoto Protocol, neither is it ashamed of its position on Kyoto, nor indifferent to the challenges of climate change”
And the Climate Change Action Network Groups attending COP 9, say all the research being proposed on new technologies, is just another cop-out for not sharing existing best available Green House Gas (GHG) abatement technologies. Environmental groups in the Climate Action Network said the Bush Administration is faking action on climate protection to mislead governments meeting in Milan into thinking that there is a credible alternative to the Kyoto Protocol. A new report, FAKING ACTION – The Truth behind US Global Warming Policy, uncovers all the ‘misleading’ claims in the Bush Administration’s plan and details their endless attacks on responsible climate action.
They allege that the Administration’s domestic policy is a voluntary goal that will allow emissions to increase, not decrease. “ The bottom line is that US emissions will be 32 per cent above 1990 levels by 2012, instead of the target of 7 per cent below included in the Kyoto Protocol for the US. "In reality global emissions will continue to increase while we wait 20 years or more for their plan to kick in."
The groups give the following as Bush’s top ten ways to fake it on global warming : i) US withdraws from Kyoto Protocol — the Bush Administration has never provided any analysis to substantiate its claim that the Kyoto Protocol would seriously harm the US economy, even though this was one of their main reasons for withdrawing.
ii). Focus on international cooperation on research, rather than emission reductions — science and technology research cooperation with other countries should complement, not replace, binding US emission reduction commitments.
iii). Voluntary domestic goal that will rapidly increase emissions — US emissions will rise 32 per cent above 1990 levels by 2012. The voluntary 18 per cent improvement in emissions intensity is the projected trend in the absence of any new policies.
iv). Voluntary business commitments don’t add up — the voluntary goal for US electricity generation companies allows emissions to increase 13 to 16 per cent in 10 years, faster than US government forecasts of emissions growth.
v). Bush Administration opposes mandatory national emissions cap — in strongly opposing the recent Climate Stewardship Act vote in the US Senate (to cap US emissions at 2000 levels in 2012), the White House exaggerated cost impacts and said it was unfair that some other countries don’t have mandatory emission targets.
vi). Bush Administration opposes mandatory power plant emissions cap — shortly after coming into office, the White House reversed a campaign promise to put CO2 limits on power and instead supported legislation that ignores global warming and weakens the existing clean air law.
vii). Bush Administration opposes mandatory emissions reporting — The White House even opposes mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting for US companies.
viii). Energy policy subsidizes fossil fuel expansion — the Bush Administration has supported national energy legislation that provides dirty energy sources with six times more subsidies than renewable energy and energy efficiency. Meanwhile, they weakened a major new energy efficiency standard for air conditioners.
ix). Obscuring the scientific case for action — the Bush Administration claims to support sound science, but clouds the issue by exaggerating uncertainties and undermining the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) finding that anthropogenic emissions are the main cause of global warming.
x). Technology research delays action and ignores renewables and efficiency — research on clean coal, carbon sequestration, and hydrogen will not yield results for decades and directs funding away from renewable energy sources and efficiency that are available now.