February 11, 2009 4:46 PM

Bush Unveils Strategy On Global Warming

(CBS/AP)  A week before the start of the G-8 Summit in Germany, President Bush was trying to head off critics of his policy on global warming by announcing he's ready to work with the rest of the world, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod.

Mr. Bush, under international pressure to take tough action against global warming, on Thursday called for a summit of the United States and other nations that spew the most greenhouse gases on the planet.

The goal: set a long-term global strategy for reducing emissions — and counter allegations that the United States is foot-dragging.

The White House said the president's proposal addresses "life after" the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. He wants to bring India, China and other fast-growing countries to the negotiation table so they are part of the solution, not the problem.

"The United States takes this issue seriously," Mr. Bush said.

Critics disagree. They say Mr. Bush wants to set unenforceable targets for curbing greenhouse gas, not concrete limits on emissions. They contend he is ignoring other international efforts on climate change that are already under way, and is trying to avoid taking action until he leaves office.


David Doniger, climate policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Mr. Bush will have no credibility with the countries he wants to bring to the table unless he's committed to specific limits to cap the United States' own contributions to global warming.

"The president is warming up to throw his opening pitch while business, states and the rest of the world are already at the top of the ninth inning," Doniger said. "It is nothing less than embarrassing that three of the world's biggest oil companies are calling for tougher measures than the White House."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, just back from a climate change fact-finding trip to Greenland and European capitals, said getting nations to set voluntary emissions targets was not enough to reverse warming of the planet.

"Today's announcement fails to respond to the severity of the crisis that most of the rest of the world has long since recognized," she said.

The president outlined his proposal in a speech just days before he attends a summit in Germany of leading industrialized nations. Global warming is a major topic on the agenda and Mr. Bush will be on the spot.

"The new initiative I'm outlining today will contribute to the important dialogue that will take place in Germany next week," he said.

The president has been at odds with many European leaders, rejecting their call to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent of 1990 levels by the year 2050. Thursday, those same leaders praised Mr. Bush, reports Axelrod.

The administration is resisting parts of a climate change initiative being pushed by the host of the G-8 meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She backs a plan that would limit the average global temperature increase to 3.6 degrees. Practically, experts say that would require — by 2050 — a global reduction in emissions of 50 percent below 1990 levels.

"For the first time we've got the opportunity of getting a proper global deal," said British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "Because without America and China, then the rest of the world frankly can agree whatever it wants but it's not going to have the effect of improving the environment."


© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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by realpatriot1 June 2, 2007 12:39 AM EDT
The strategy is to say the right things, potpone the issue until after the G-8 Summit and then evade action.

Maybe he'll commission another study of the problem.
Reply to this comment
by micma-2009 June 1, 2007 11:45 PM EDT



The National Academy of Sciences surveyed every published, peer reviewed, scientific study done in the last ten years on global warming.

Without exception, they all agree on three fundamental facts:


1) GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL

2) GLOBAL WARMING IS CAUSED BY MAN

3) THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING WILL BE CATASTROPHIC


The SCIENTIFIC debate ended long ago.


The POLITICAL debate rages on because a few very powerful fossil-fuels companies (Exxon-Mobile) are spending millions on a dis-information campaign.


The time for lying, denying, and spin is over.


It's time we take action to protect our and our childrens futures.



Reply to this comment
by pakaal June 1, 2007 6:52 PM EDT
"Bush was trying to head off critics of his policy on global warming by announcing he%u2019s ready to work with the rest of the world"

It's funny how things get such different treatment depending on who's writing the story. The rest of the world (in agreement on human-created climate change, btw) tells the facts; Bush offers nothing but feel-good 'goals' devoid of penalties for not reaching said goals, carbon credit trading so we can carry on being the number one pollution emitter, and that even these small steps will only take effect 4 years after Bush steps down.

This reminds me a lot of the "compromise" we saw between Bush and Congress. Essentially meaningless and no compromise at all. But we've come to expect meaningless rhetoric from this administration, so, nothing new there.
Reply to this comment
by co2max June 1, 2007 4:02 PM EDT
CO2Max is a paid hack from Hacks-are-Us. He's got several monikers and a special email acount where he gets messages alerting him to post on the issues he's paid to post on. You know they are in trouble when they have to resort to paying hacks to spread their lies.
Posted by micma at 12:50 PM : Jun 01, 2007
----------------------
If only what you say here were true. As a student of geology, I could sure use the money.
You make me laugh. It even serves to confirm that I make sense.
Thank you.
Reply to this comment
by micma-2009 June 1, 2007 3:50 PM EDT


The National Academy of Sciences surveyed every published, peer reviewed, scientific study done in the last ten years on global warming.

Without exception, they all agree on three fundamental facts:


1) GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL

2) GLOBAL WARMING IS CAUSED BY MAN

3) THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING WILL BE CATASTROPHIC


The SCIENTIFIC debate ended long ago.


The POLITICAL debate rages on because a few very powerful fossil-fuels companies (Exxon-Mobile) are spending millions on a dis-information campaign.


The time for lying, denying, and spin is over.


It's time we take action to protect our and our childrens futures.






CO2Max is a paid hack from Hacks-are-Us. He's got several monikers and a special email acount where he gets messages alerting him to post on the issues he's paid to post on. You know they are in trouble when they have to resort to paying hacks to spread their lies.


Reply to this comment
by co2max June 1, 2007 3:42 PM EDT
Yup,
What I posted earlier today about Global Warming causing Brain Damage definitely applies here. I thought it was just speculation, but now we have supporting evidence to the claim.
Reply to this comment
by micma-2009 June 1, 2007 3:40 PM EDT



The National Academy of Sciences surveyed every published, peer reviewed, scientific study done in the last ten years on global warming.

Without exception, they all agree on three fundamental facts:


1) GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL

2) GLOBAL WARMING IS CAUSED BY MAN

3) THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING WILL BE CATASTROPHIC


The SCIENTIFIC debate ended long ago.


The POLITICAL debate rages on because a few very powerful fossil-fuels companies (Exxon-Mobile) are spending millions on a dis-information campaign.


The time for lying, denying, and spin is over.


It's time we take action to protect our and our childrens futures.



Reply to this comment
by co2max June 1, 2007 3:36 PM EDT
Oh, You're one of those who repeatedly posted dwibbling proclamations. This is like arguing with a radio.

Carry on . ..
Reply to this comment
by micma-2009 June 1, 2007 3:18 PM EDT



Every published, peer reviewed, scientific study done in the last ten years on global warming agrees on three facts:


1) GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL

2) GLOBAL WARMING IS CAUSED BY MAN

3) THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING WILL BE CATASTROPHIC


The SCIENTIFIC debate ended long ago.


The POLITICAL debate rages on because a few very powerful fossil-fuels companies (Exxon-Mobile) are spending millions on a dis-information campaign.


The time for lying, denying, and spin is over.


It's time we take action to protect our and our childrens futures.




Reply to this comment
by co2max June 1, 2007 3:16 PM EDT
The SCIENTIFIC debate ended long ago.
The POLITICAL debate rages on because a few very powerful fossil-fuels companies (Exxon-Mobile) are spending millions on a dis-information campaign.
The time for lying, denying, and spin is over.
It's time we take action to protect our and our childrens futures.
Posted by micma at 11:51 AM : Jun 01, 2007
-------------------
You, micma, are hopelessly confused.
This is a great deal of debate. Practically no one contests the reality of global warming. But the claim that humans are causing it is outrageous. How in the world did the presence of humans cause all the natural factors of climate change to come to an abrupt stop? Well, it didn't. Natural causes of climate change carry on while we made a minor contribution to it that is hardly even worth talking about. We should focus on true pollution issues, not the control meaningless control of vital trace gases in the atmosphere.
I'm still waiting to hear what the CATASTROPHIC consequences of global warming are going to be (besides, the nonsensical propaganda claims). Catastrophy comes to those who fail to prepare or to adapt to change. They're doomed no matter what happens anyway.
And stop it with that crying drone of: "our children's futures." Most likely your children are doomed because of your muddle-headedness.
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