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clinton says bush is 'flat wrong' on kyoto

by charles j. hanley, ap special correspondent {12/9/05 4:30pm]

montreal - former president clinton told a global audience of diplomats,

environmentalists and others friday that the bush administration is "flat wrong"
in claiming that reducing greenhouse-gas emissions to fight global warming would
damage the u.s. economy. with a "serious disciplined effort" to develop energy-
saving technology, he said, "we could meet and surpass the kyoto targets in a way
that would strengthen and not weaken our economies."

clinton, a champion of the kyoto protocol, the existing emissions-controls

agreement opposed by the bush administration, spoke in the final hours of a two-
week u.n. climate conference at which washington has come under heavy criticism
for its stand.

most delegations appeared ready friday to leave an unwilling united states behind
and open a new round of negotiations on future cutbacks in the emissions blamed
for global warming. "there's no longer any serious doubt that climate change is
real, accelerating and caused by human activities," said clinton, whose address
was interrupted repeatedly by enthusiastic applause. "we are uncertain about how
deep and the time of arrival of the consequences, but we are quite clear they will
not be good."

canadian officials said the u.s. delegation was displeased with the last-minute
scheduling of the clinton speech. but u.s. delegation chief paula dobriansky
issued a statement saying events like clinton's appearance "are useful
opportunities to hear a wide range of views on global climate change." the former
president spoke between the official morning and afternoon plenary sessions of the
conference, representing the william j. clinton foundation, which includes a
climate-change program in its activities.

in the real work of the conference, delegates from more than 180 countries
bargained behind closed doors until 6:30 a.m. friday, making final adjustments to
an agreement to negotiate additional reductions in carbon dioxide and other gases
after 2012, when the kyoto accord expires. efforts by host-country canada and
others to draw the united states into the process were failing. the bush
administration says it favors a voluntary approach, not global negotiations, to
deal with climate issues.

"it's such a pity the united states is still very much unwilling to join the
international community, to have a multilateral effort to deal with climate
change," said kenya's emily ojoo massawa, chair of the african group of nations at
the two-week long conference.

clinton's vice president, al gore, was instrumental in final negotiations on the

1997 treaty protocol that was initialed in the japanese city of kyoto and mandates
cutbacks in 35 industrialized nations of emissions of carbon dioxide and five
other gases by 2012.

a broad scientific consensus agrees that these gases accumulating in the

atmosphere, byproducts of automobile engines, power plants and other fossil fuel-
burning industries, contributed significantly to the past century's global
temperature rise of 1 degree fahrenheit. continued warming is expected to disrupt
the global climate.

in the late 1990s the u.s. senate balked at ratifying kyoto, and the incoming
president bush in 2001 formally renounced the accord, saying it would harm the
u.s. economy.

the montreal meeting, attended by almost 10,000 delegates, environmentalists,

business representatives and others, was the first annual u.n. climate conference
since kyoto took effect in february.

the protocol's language requires its member nations to begin talks now on
emissions controls after 2012, when the kyoto regime expires. the canadians and
others also saw montreal as an opportunity to draw the outsider united states into
the emission-controls regime, through discussions under the broader 1992 u.n.
climate treaty.

but the americans have repeatedly rejected the idea of rejoining future
negotiations to set post-2012 emissions controls. the canadians continued to press
for agreement early friday, offering the u.s. delegation vague, noncommittal
language by which washington would join only in "exploring" "approaches" to
cooperative action.

while rejecting mandatory targets, the bush administration points to $3 billion-a-

year u.s. government spending on research and development of energy-saving
technologies as a demonstration of u.s. efforts to combat climate change.

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