Britain will today launch its strongest attack on George
Bush's rejection of the Kyoto climate protocol, as the government warns that
Washington's actions threaten to make the planet "uninhabitable."
Angered by the US government's decision to rule out
signing up to Kyoto for the next 10 years, the environment minister, Michael
Meacher, writes in today's Guardian that the world is running out of time.
"We do not have much time and we do not have any serious option. If we do
not act quickly to minimise runaway feedback effects [from global warming] we
run the risk of making this planet, our home, uninhabitable."
The minister's intervention came after Washington's chief
climate negotiator, Harlan Watson, said in London earlier this week that an
independent US initiative to cut emissions of greenhouse gases would not be
assessed until 2012. "We are not going to be part of the Kyoto protocol
for the foreseeable future," he announced.
Mr Watson's remarks prompted an outspoken attack on the
US by Mr Meacher. "I am so disappointed that this week the US
refused to reconsider coming back into the climate talks for 10 years. The need
for action is urgent," he writes.
Tony Blair also admitted last night that Britain and the
US were at odds over the Kyoto protocol, the international agreement drawn up
to help slow, and mitigate the effects of, climate change.
In an interview on BBC2's Newsnight, the prime minister
said: "On Kyoto, there is a difference of opinion. We have made that
clear."
Mr Meacher takes a swipe at the US's apparent complacency
when he warns that there are strong reasons for "doubting the comforting
US picture that there's plenty of time to deal with the problem". The
minister adds: "One [reason] is that climate change may be not steady but
abrupt; the other is that the pressures we inflict on the climate may trigger
wholly unexpected developments from feedback effects."
Latest scientific evidence suggests the impact of climate
change on Britain could be "faster and sharper" than expected, says
Mr Meacher.
5/20/2002