"President Bush's policies on global warming are a disaster,"
said John Coequyt, energy policy analyst at Greenpeace USA. "His
international meeting on climate change in Hawaii is a rogue
process to deflect attention from the administration's insistence
to maintain America's dependence on dirty and dangerous energy
sources while failing to address the growing climate crisis. As the
XX has long outlived the President it was built to honour, so too
will Bush's legacy on climate change stand as a memorial to his
neglect, obstruction and destruction."
Greenpeace's projection served to call attention to Bush's
global warming policies a day after his State of the Union address
and on the eve of Bush's international meeting of the world's
largest emitters of global warming pollution, called the 'Major
Economies Meeting,' which takes place in Hawaii on Wednesday and
Thursday.
After being roundly rebuked in December in Bali at the UN's
International Conference on Climate Change, the Bush Administration
continues to push its alternative Major Economies process that
seeks to replace the Kyoto Protocol's legally binding emissions
reduction targets with a completely inadequate voluntary approach.
"If the President were serious about leading on climate change, he
would stop obstructing the U.N.'s process and endorse a cap on U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions," Coequyt said. The United States stands
completely isolated as the only industrialized country on the
planet not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
"The Bush administration continues to push a climate-destroying
agenda and to obstruct all meaningful efforts to address global
warming by the international community," said Daniel Mittler
Greenpeace International Climate Policy Expert. "The Bush
Administration is hell-bent on obstructing global progress on
climate change and was booed by the world community for its do
nothing attitude in Bali last month. Bush is as opposed to binding
emission cuts as ever and his Major Emitters Meeting in Honolulu is
nothing but a cynical charade lacking any legitimacy."
Greenpeace is calling on the countries attending the meeting to
maintain their commitments to substantive action under the Kyoto
Protocol. Participating countries include: Japan, France, Germany,
Italy, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, India, Brazil, South
Korea, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, and South Africa, as
well as the United Nations, the EU Presidency and the EU
Commission.
Other contacts: Jane Kochersperger, Media Officer Greenpeace USA, + 1 202 680 3798 cellJohn Coequyt, Greenpeace USA energy campaign, +1 202 669 7060Daniel Mittler, Greenpeace International, +49 171 876 53 45 (mobile)
VVPR info: Photos are available at: http://usaphoto.greenpeace.org/wash_monument_01_29_08/
Notes: Notes: A major emitters briefing memo is available upon request. For further information on the outcome of the Bali negotiations, go to: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/bali
Exp. contact date: 2008-02-29 00:00:00