Bush to sign Koyoto?

[MtnBiker]

Bush set for climate change U-turn


Downing Street says that belated US recognition of global warming could lead to a post-Kyoto agreement on curbing emissions

Gaby Hinsliff, Juliette Jowit and Paul Harris
Sunday January 14, 2007
The Observer


George Bush is preparing to make a historic shift in his position on global warming when he makes his State of the Union speech later this month, say senior Downing Street officials.
Tony Blair hopes that the new stance by the United States will lead to a breakthrough in international talks on climate change and that the outlines of a successor treaty to the Kyoto agreement, the deal to curb emissions of greenhouse gases which expires in 2012, could now be thrashed out at the G8 summit in June.

The timetable may explain why Blair is so keen to remain in office until after the summit, with a deal on protecting the planet offering an appealing legacy with which to bow out of Number 10.
Bush and Blair held private talks on climate change before Christmas, and there is a feeling that the US President will now agree a cap on emissions in the US, meaning that, for the first time, American industry and consumers would be expected to start conserving energy and curbing pollution.

'We could now be seeing the beginning of a consensus on a post-Kyoto framework,' said a source close to the prime minister. 'President Bush is beginning to talk about more radical measures.'

The move will be seen as part of a wider repositioning of the Bush government after its comprehensive defeat in last autumn's mid-term elections.

A change of heart on the environment was signalled earlier this month when the US administration unexpectedly announced that polar bears were now an endangered species because their habitat in the US state of Alaska had suffered from melting ice sheets caused by global warming. The government is now required to act on threats to the bears' survival. The EU has its own so-called cap and trade scheme, under which industries are given a quota of carbon dioxide emissions: if they exceed the limits, they must pay for extra credits that can be bought from cleaner industries - an incentive to firms to go green.

Downing Street is increasingly confident that the arguments pushed by Sir Nicholas Stern, author of the recent Treasury report on the cost of global warming, that doing nothing will eventually prove more costly than trying to avert catastrophe are now gaining in momentum. However, Stern warned: 'The US will work it out for itself. Nobody will be telling them what to do, and nobody should.'

Downing Street now expects a broad agreement between EU countries on a successor treaty to Kyoto to be thrashed out at the EU spring council, paving the way for an agreement at the G8.

Blair was also told in meetings with senior senators late last year that they would seek to push through measures on global warming which had been repeatedly blocked by the Republicans before the mid-term elections cost Bush's party control of both Houses of Congress.

But another source close to the negotiations warned that Bush had previously appeared to give ground on climate change, only to fail to make real concessions. The best hope could lie with a post-Kyoto deal for 2009, the source said - by which time Bush will be out of office.

Kurt Davies, research director on climate change for Greenpeace USA, said climate change was now expected to be one of the keynotes of the State of the Union address.

'The sands are clearly shifting on climate change for this administration, but there has to be a concrete follow-up,' he said. 'We were shocked last year when he talked about the US being addicted to oil, but then there was no follow-up to that.'

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world...989997,00.html


So I wonder, what global body will enforce the complance of any treaty on emssions and pollution?

The UN has already proved that it is completely incapable of doing such thing. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has already allowed North Korea and Iran to circumvent any enforcement by the UN. The same sort of results are quite likely with any Global Warming initiative, expect the US will be held accountable by the free press and the demonisation of any politicain who would possibly oppose such a treaty. In the end it will weaken the US economy while other countries will thumb their nose at the treaty and continue to grow their economy.

[TheSage]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world...989997,00.html


So I wonder, what global body will enforce the complance of any treaty on emssions and pollution?

The UN has already proved that it is completely incapable of doing such thing. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has already allowed North Korea and Iran to circumvent any enforcement by the UN. The same sort of results are quite likely with any Global Warming initiative, expect the US will be held accountable by the free press and the demonisation of any politicain who would possibly oppose such a treaty. In the end it will weaken the US economy while other countries will thumb their nose at the treaty and continue to grow their economy.

We probably will since we're signatories now. This will be used to shut down businesses they want shut down. Bush is fully on board with the new world order. I've been trying to tell you this for a long time now.

[Mr. P]

If Bush signs the Kyoto treaty I’ll support any impeachment campaign.

[TheSage]

If Bush signs the Kyoto treaty I’ll support any impeachment campaign.

I remember seeing something a bit ago too that now some evangelical churches are starting to spout the environmental line of bull.

[Mr. P]

I remember seeing something a bit ago too that now some evangelical churches are starting to spout the environmental line of bull.

Rings a faint bell.

[Pale Rider]

We probably will since we're signatories now. This will be used to shut down businesses they want shut down. Bush is fully on board with the new world order. I've been trying to tell you this for a long time now.

I also believe bush is a globalist. He does nothing about the tidal wave of mexicans illegally entering our country at will.

Well, he does want to do SOMETHING, he wants to give them all AMNESTY!

[TheSage]

I also believe bush is a globalist. He does nothing about the tidal wave of mexicans illegally entering our country at will.

Well, he does want to do SOMETHING, he wants to give them all AMNESTY!

Totally, brother. A complete sell out. I got suspicious when he first called the minutemen vigilantes.

[MtnBiker]

Regardless if Bush does anything about Kyoto or not the whole idea of us entering into a treaty that is likely to be deviated from by other countries is wrong.

[Said1]

Now they can all get Kyoto tatoos. It's the new 'sign', the mark of the beast so to speak. Kyoto is the anit-Christ. But you didn't hear it from me.

[Mr. P]

Now they can all get Kyoto tatoos. It's the new 'sign', the mark of the beast so to speak. Kyoto is the anit-Christ. But you didn't hear it from me.

Which thumper told you to say that?

[Gaffer]

The US never signed that treaty, we agreed to abide by it but not to be a part of it because it allowed the un and other nations to tell us what we could and could not do.

I haven't seen much more on it recently so don't know what blaire is up to there.

[TheSage]

The US never signed that treaty, we agreed to abide by it but not to be a part of it because it allowed the un and other nations to tell us what we could and could not do.

I haven't seen much more on it recently so don't know what blaire is up to there.

We didn't sign it before, bush is considering signing it now. This is new information. Time goes on. You should edit your internal mental model instead of living in the halcyon days of yore.

[Said1]

Which thumper told you to say that?

No one. I came up with myself. you don't think it makes sense, or what?

[Mr. P]

No one. I came up with myself. you don't think it makes sense, or what?

Sense? Are you dating TheSage by chance?

[TheSage]

Sense? Are you dating TheSage by chance?

She wishes. But noone can tame TheSage.