The Ambassador
What We Are Doing To Stop Global Warming
February 24, 2007
Last week I joined President Mesic in a special viewing of Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth". I think the former U.S. Vice President has done an important service, riveting attention in the United States and Europe alike to the precarious future of the world climate, preparing us mentally for the steps that must come. Also in recent days the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its report, which was supported by my government, providing the most conclusive evidence yet that global warming is already upon us. Its definitive scientific consensus is a critical step toward safeguarding the world's future.
I realize that both the film and research findings were released against the backdrop of public opinion that the U.S. doesn't care about climate change or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and that Europe is doing a better job of tackling the issue. But this belief is wrong.
In 2001 the
U.S. didn't ratify the Kyoto Treaty because its approach didn't properly address economic growth or developing countries, which include some of the greatest emitters of greenhouse gases. Since then our concerns have been borne out by reality. The International Energy Agency is now forecasting that
China will overtake us in 2009 as the world's leader in greenhouse emissions. By 2010, the combined carbon dioxide emissions from non-OECD countries are expected to exceed those from OECD countries.
Those who questioned our concern for economic growth need also to remember the effect a stagnant U.S. economy would have on our Euro-Atlantic partners, as well as many developing countries. And to ask poorer countries themselves to cut production without help is a non-starter. The question is how to improve the air worldwide without throwing people out of work, on a planet where the developed and developing world are increasingly interdependent.
Since Kyoto an interesting thing happened: The U.S. continued to work with its partners on reducing emissions. We began investing heavily in clean technology and enacting policies to make it affordable to poorer countries. From 2001 through 2006 my government devoted over $29 billion - roughly the annual economic output of Bulgaria - to climate science, technology, international assistance and incentive programs.
In the meantime, the world continued to pollute. According to data from the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change, from 2000-2004 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.3 percent, a much reduced increase during a period of sharp economic and population growth. By contrast, emissions growth in the European Union was even higher, at 2.1 percent. Were the number not skewed by EU expansion in this period, the number would have been almost twice as high, at 2.4 percent.
Even so, the trend in both Europe and the United States is in the right direction. Yet our main goal is not simply to slow the increase but to achieve reductions. To that end my government has enacted a series of meaningful policy initiatives, including targeted market decisions, incentives and mandates that have helped speed the deployment of cleaner technology, which is really the key to cutting emissions. And this is where the United States is leading the world.
In November we announced $1 billion in new tax credits for projects in nine U.S. states to construct coal power plants that will be cleaner than any ever before. In 2004 President Bush launched an initiative in which the U.S. and 18 other countries partner with industry to use methane as a fuel source. We started the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP) a year ago to bring China, India, Japan, South Korea and Australia together with the United States to tackle energy, economic and environmental goals. These countries account for about 50 percent of the world's energy use. Making climate policy without them would have been futile.
In his recent State of the Union speech, the U.S. President laid out his proposals for the future, such as reducing gasoline usage by 20 percent over a decade by improving fuel economy standards and deploying renewable fuels. The measures he announced could cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 175 million metric tons by 2017, the equivalent of taking 26 million automobiles off the road. This together with other initiatives will make a real difference.
Soon after viewing "Inconvenient Truth" I heard the sobering news that this January was the warmest on record. Whether a symptom of climate change or merely a fluke, it was a reminder of the stake we all have in this issue. For our part, the U.S. is deeply committed to tackling climate change by doing what we do best: developing technologies, partnering with industry, and leading multilaterally toward big-picture solutions. And we have results to show for it.
Robert Bradtke
U.S. Ambassador to the
Republic of Croatia
