COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Global action on climate
change is not possible without cooperation from the
United States, the top U.N. environmental official
said Thursday.
Klaus Toepfer's comments came two days after
President Bush backed off a campaign promise and said
he will not regulate power plants' emission of carbon
dioxide, produced by burning fossil fuels like coal
and oil.
Scientists have long theorized that carbon dioxide
and other waste gases are trapping the Earth's heat in
a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect.
The United States, which is the largest emitter of
greenhouse gases, ``is an important part of the
solution,'' said Toepfer, the executive director of
the Nairobi-based U.N. Environment Program.
``The United States is also our best hope for a
solution.'' ``Without U.S. leadership, effective
global action on climate change may not be possible,''
Toepfer said during a visit to the Danish capital.
In explaining the turnabout, Bush cited America's
energy problems and said he was not pressured by
industry lobbyists. He expressed concern that
regulating carbon dioxide emissions would hinder the
efficiency of coal-burning power plants and force
greater use of natural gas, whose price this winter
spiked to more than double last year's level.
Coal, which accounts for half of the nation's
electricity generation, has been a relatively cheap
fuel for power production.
``While developing countries are at greatest risk,
climate change will also pose challenges for rich
countries like Japan, Britain and the United States,''
Toepfer said.
He cited recent U.N. reports that global
temperatures could rise over the next century, largely
due to industrial and auto pollution.
The United States, Toepfer said, was the best hope
for a solution because it ``is the world's most
technologically innovative country. Its industries are
most likely to develop the climate-friendly products
and services that must one day soon set the world onto
a clean energy path.''
Bush's statement to Congress also prompted concern
from the European Union's Environment Commissioner,
Margot Wallstroem, who said Wednesday that ``nobody
should ignore'' the warnings of global warming.
American and European nations have been at odds
over how to implement a 1997 protocol reached in
Kyoto, Japan. In that accord, the developed world
pledged to reduce heat-trapping carbon emissions by
5.2 percent from 1990 levels. The gases are widely
blamed for the greenhouse effect linked to rising
temperatures around the planet.
The last round of talks on implementing the climate
accord broke down after a two-week session in November
in the Netherlands.
