Bush Pulls U-Turn: Urges 15 nations to curb greenhouse emissions

In an attempt to change the world's perception of the US' policies towards global warming, Bush has called upon nations ranging from China and India to large European nations to adopt new emissions goals within a year.

Bush's plan will include those nations identified as major emitters of greenhouse gases. The plan will outline goals for the future but it will leave the nations to develop their own way to meet those goals. This new plan from the Bush administration comes after the US' refusal to ratify the 1997 Kyoto agreement that required nations to drop emissions levels to that of 1990 by 2012. The plan has already received criticism from environmental groups: Friends of the Earth president Brent Blackwelder and National Environmental Trust president Philip Clapp have both weighed in on the matter. Blackweider commented that the Bush administration was attempting to look as though it cared about global warming while actually doing nothing. Clapp claimed it was a 'transparent effort' to distract the public from Bush's refusal accept any emissions reductions at the G8 summit next week. An alternate plan has come out of Germany, if adopted it's goals are to reduce greenhouse emissions to 50% of 1990's levels by 2050. This plan is being hailed as having considerably more substance and efficacy when compared to the new Bush proposal. If Bush wants to give the US a better name in the international community, he better develop a plan with teeth--unlike this one.