National Wildlife Federation Statement on President Bush's "Climate Strategy"

Statement by Larry Schweiger, President & CEO, National Wildlife Federation, On Bush Administration’s Announcement of Climate Strategy

Washington, DC (May 31) – “Today, the President called for international meetings on global warming that would not produce results until after the presidential election in 2008, in the final months of a lame duck presidency.

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“This is not progress. This is an attempt to muddy the waters for the next President. The Bush administration has opposed efforts in Congress to tackle global warming, and now the President is ready to go global.

“An international negotiation process is already underway the Framework Convention on Climate Change, and President Bush can return to the negotiating table at any time.

“The President’s announcement comes in the face of pressure on global warming from other nations ahead of next week’s G8 meeting. The European Union is pushing for the G8 nations to acknowledge that we need to act quickly to cut global warming pollution and keep further temperatures from exceeding a threshold of four degrees Fahrenheit. This goal can be achieved by starting promptly to cut emissions and achieving a reduction of up to 80 percent by mid-century.

“The writing is on the wall that, once President Bush is out of office, America will be ready to move forward with a strong plan of action on global warming. Twenty major U.S. companies have joined with National Wildlife Federation and other conservation groups to call for a 60-80 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. And the major bipartisan initiatives in Congress would achieve similar emission reduction targets.

“If President Bush were serious about this plan, he should have offered it six years ago when he rejected the Kyoto treaty, instead of walking away from the negotiating table altogether. Now, it’s like Lucy holding out the football for Charlie Brown. At best, this is a stalling tactic.”

Source: The National Wildlife Federation