[Grimmlok]

U.S. angered by Martin's climate comments
Dec. 8, 2005. 08:32 PM


MONTREAL (CP) — With one day of talks to go at the UN climate conference, desperate efforts to draw the United States into the global effort to curb greenhouse emissions appear to have hit a brick wall, and Prime Minister Paul Martin is being blamed.

An official with close contacts in the U.S. delegation said any hopes of drawing Washington into the process were killed when Martin pointed a finger of blame at the United States in a news briefing at the conference.

"That was a big mistake," said the delegate, speaking on condition of anonymity Thursday. He said the U.S. delegation, which is directed from Washington by Vice-President Dick Cheney, was deeply angered by Martin's comments.

In his comments Wednesday, Martin called on all nations to join the global effort to fight climate change, adding: "To the reticent nations, including the United States, I say there is such a thing as a global conscience, and now is the time to listen to it."

It is not clear that the United States would have agreed to participate in new climate talks in any case, said the official, but chances now have been reduced to zero.

In this context it is expected the U.S. will veto a new Canadian-inspired proposal calling for further talks within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).

The United States is party to the UNFCC although it has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

Experts say there can be no realistic hope of controlling climate change unless there are deeper cuts after 2012, beyond the 5.2 per cent reduction required in the existing Kyoto Protocol.

They also say the international effort will be doomed without the participation of the United States, which accounts for about a quarter of global greenhouse emissions.

Environmentalists have been arguing that Kyoto countries should forget about trying to engage the current U.S. administration while waiting for a more sympathetic regime. They cheered Martin's remarks, which were a big topic of conversation Thursday.

"I think it will come to be seen as a historic speech," said Bill Hare of Greenpeace International. "I really think it was a very, very powerful statement from a main political leader."

The White House is likely to be further angered by news that former U.S. president Bill Clinton will address the conference on Friday at the invitation of the City of Montreal.

Clinton was a major supporter of the Kyoto Protocol while president, although his successor George W. Bush pulled out of the accord soon after taking power.

The visit was arranged on the initiative of Elizabeth May, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada, who has known Clinton since working on one of his campaigns in the 1970s.

Although Clinton's speech is officially designated as a "side event" to the conference, it is expected to take place in the main conference hall, allowing thousands of delegates from around the world to attend.

Despite the U.S. reaction, Canadian delegates were upbeat Thursday, noting that a committee had reached consensus on a proposal for further talks within the Kyoto Protocol. Those talks would exclude the United States.

The United States is entitled to participate in the conference because it has ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). It is not entitled to participate in negotiations under the Kyoto Protocol, which it has not ratified.

Here's an idea: Bush and his whole administration are a bunch of puerile selfish dickwads, and MOVE ON WITHOUT THEM.

Actually, do one better: Kick the American delegation right out of the building and send them packing back across the border.

*silent scream* This is why people get pissed off at the US