Brussels, 14/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - Four months from the resumption of international negotiations in climate change (COPS 6, Bonn, in July), statements from American President George W. Bush announcing that he had decided not to impose compulsory reductions on their CO2 emissions on providers of energy because these are not regarded as polluting agents according to American legislation on the quality of air has raised the concern of Margot Wallstrom, European Commissioner for the Environment, and the indignation of the environmental organisation Greenpeace.
In a press release published on Wednesday, Margot Wallstrom declares: "I am concerned about President Bush's remarks that more research is needed into the causes of climate change before we know what the solutions are. The International Panel on Climate change has once again confirmed again the evidence on the causes of climate change and the solutions. Nobody should ignore these warnings. However, we will of course continue to discuss with the United States and see what the practical implications are for the statements by Mr. Bush. On the question of whether or not mandatory emission reductions should be imposed on power plants in the United States - it is for each country to decide how it should reduce its emissions".
Greenpeace, for its part, declared itself "shocked by the sudden decision of the American President to break the promises he made, during his electoral campaign, of imposing a reduction of CO2 emissions on American power plants", commitment, Greenpeace stresses, that Christine Whitman, President of the American Environmental Protection Agency, had just repeated at the G8 "Environment" Summit of Trieste (Italy). According to Greenpeace, Ms. Whitman had given the impression to participants that the new American Administration intended seriously tackling climate change, and had explicitly mentioned limits to impose on power plants as a commitment by the United States to take national measures to combat climate change.
Greenpeace stresses that this turnabout by President Bush strengthens the need, for the European Union and other parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change, to redouble their efforts to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.