US President George W. Bush speaks at
the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington,
DC. Bush said Thursday he would urge major industrialized nations at a
summit next week to join a new global framework for fighting climate
change after the Kyoto Protocol lapses.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo
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WASHINGTON,
May 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush unveiled a long-term strategy
on climate change Thursday, urging 15 major nations to set a global emission
goal.
According to Bush's most sweeping proposal on the
issue to date, the United States will work with other nations to establish a new
framework on greenhouse gas emissions for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in
2012, though the United States never signed that agreement.
The list would include the United States, China,
India and major European countries. Bush proposed that by the end of next year,
America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing
greenhouse gases that spur global warming.
To help develop this goal, the United States would
convene a series of meetings of nations that "produced most greenhouse gas
emissions, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and
China," Bush said in a speech laying out his agenda for the coming G8 summit in
Germany.
The first of these meetings will begin in the fall of
this year. "The United States takes this issue seriously. The new initiative I
am outlining today will contribute to the important dialogue that will take in
Germany next week," said Bush.
However, in negotiations before the G8 summit,
Washington rejected setting targets to reduce greenhouse gases, championed by
other participants.
Germany is proposing a target, where global
temperature would be allowed to increase no more than 2 Celsius degrees before
being brought back down. That could lead to a global reduction in emissions of
50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
The United States has rejected that approach. White
House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush wants each country to develop its own
plan.
BERLIN, May 31 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel
hailed Thursday an initiative by U.S. President George W Bush to backing limits
for greenhouse gas emissions.
She said that while she could make only a "brief
assessment," Bush's remarks were an "important step on the road" to the Group of
Eight (G8) summit on June 6-8 in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm, Germany. Full story
BRUSSELS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi said here on Wednesday she hoped that the leaders at the upcoming G-8
summit can reach some consensus on climate change, showing signs of moving away
from the traditional U.S. policy on the issue. Full story
BERLIN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel
vowed here Tuesday to press ahead for binding targets to combat global warming
before the summit of Group of Eight (G8) nations. Full story
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