Page 2 of
2 Bush's annual hot air
emission By Michael Piskur
2017 could reduce gasoline
consumption by some 30 billion liters, yet falls
short of the benchmarks established in six other
energy plans. For example, the Biofuels Security
Act would require all vehicles to be
flex-fuel-equipped and all major US gasoline
retailers to offer E-85, an 85%-ethanol fuel, and
mandate production of 60 billion gallons (227
billion liters) of renewable fuels by 2030.
A global consensus emerges Despite acknowledging the "serious challenge
of global climate
change", Bush remains opposed
to instituting mandatory limits on carbon
emissions. In keeping with the refusal to ratify
Kyoto, the White House is committed to tackling
environmental issues so long as the solutions do
not interfere with free enterprise.
Yet
two groups that have firmly supported Bush, big
business and evangelical Christians, are calling
for the president to take immediate action. Many
US corporations have come to the conclusion that
legislation on climate change is inevitable and
that it is in their interests to be a part of the
discussion from which the legislation will arise.
The US Climate Action Partnership,
including such companies as Alcoa Inc, Duke Energy
Corp, Dupont Co, General Electric Co and several
environmental groups, is pushing for "swift
federal action on reducing greenhouse-gas
emissions and speeding the adoption of
climate-friendly technology" and endorses the
Electric Utility Cap-and-Trade Act. The plan would
reduce emissions from the US electricity sector by
25% beneath current levels by 2020.
As US
opinion of global warming undergoes a "quantum
shift", as British Prime Minister Tony Blair put
it, the energy sector views government
intervention as an inevitability and undoubtedly
wants to have a hand in crafting legislation while
the White House remains apathetic toward the
issue. Concurrently, evangelicals and scientists
have signed a statement demanding that US leaders
take immediate action to confront climate issues.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change released a report on Friday
showing global greenhouse-gas levels at a
650,000-year high and projecting catastrophic
results, including rising sea levels, increased
droughts and floods, and more powerful storms,
during the course of the next century. The IPCC
report aims to extend the Kyoto treaty, which will
expire in 2012.
To that end, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel is using her country's
current presidency of the Group of Eight developed
nations to lead the charge against global warming.
Merkel said climate change and energy security are
the two greatest issues facing the world and that
global cooperation is necessary to overcome them.
At this year's G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany,
Merkel will seek to revive the Doha Round of trade
negotiations and establish a global, legally
binding regime to follow Kyoto.
Moreover,
global warming is at the center of this year's
World Economic Forum and European Union leaders
have made it their top legislative priority for
2007.
Conclusion Regardless of
the long-term effects of global warming, continued
reliance on non-renewable energy sources from
geopolitically unstable areas is a policy fraught
with risk. The recent example that Russia set by
cutting gas supplies to Belarus represents merely
the beginning of power that states rich in oil and
gas supplies can have over the major energy
consumers. The security of oil in the Middle East
is at the center of US foreign policy and will
remain this way as long as the United States
relies on foreign oil.
Whether action is
taken as an immediate geopolitical necessity to
secure energy and other natural resources, such as
water and arable land, or because of a moral
imperative on behalf of future generations, global
warming stands to be a major political issue of
the 21st century.
Published with
permission of thePower and Interest News
Report, an analysis-based
publication that seeks to provide insight into
various conflicts, regions and points of interest
around the globe. All comments should be directed
to content@pinr.com.
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
