EU Wants More Mandatory Emissions Cuts, US Opposed
Mary Milliken, Reuters

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The European Union, the heavyweight in the fight against global warming, will push for mandatory cuts in emissions after the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012 despite fervent opposition from the United States. Kyoto goes into effect two months from Thursday, but negotiators at this week's U.N. climate change talks are firmly focused on a new regime for when it ends in 2012 and what can be done to get the United States, the Kyoto drop-out, involved. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told Reuters in an interview that the EU must stick to what it believes in -- legally binding emissions cuts -- despite calls from some corners this week for a less rigid stance.

"I think what we should do is try to get on everybody on board with mandatory reductions," said Dimas, a Greek lawyer who has held this post for less than a month. U.S. delegation head Paula Dobriansky ruled out mandatory caps and reiterated it is too soon to talk about post-2012. "Our policy is that we do not support mandatory targets or timetables," Dobriansky, Undersecretary for Global Affairs at the State Department, said in an interview. Under Kyoto, industrialized countries together must reduce man-made emissions by five percent by 2012 versus 1990 levels and some have deeper cuts than others. Most consider it a first, small step to stop global warming.

The United States, the biggest polluter in the world with 25 percent of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, chafes at the idea of a mandatory caps, which it says thwart growth. That was the main reason President George W. Bush pulled out of Kyoto in 2001. While few of the 6,000 people at the convention expected the United States to change its mind on Kyoto, many were surprised at its hardline stance during the last 10 days. "See a few more summers in Texas where the roads are melting, or the drought wipes out the farmers and the ranchers ... then you might start to see some rethinking," said U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio democrat and supporter of Kyoto.

'FRUSTRATED, DISAPPOINTED'

Italy this week suggested that maybe it was time for negotiators to discuss voluntary targets for after 2012 as a way to entice the United States and fast-growing developing giants China and India, now among the top five polluters. But Dimas is doubtful of this approach, particularly for industrialized nations. "Voluntary reductions have not given results up to now. So we need mandatory reduction targets," he said. Dobriansky said she preferred a "bottom-up" commitment in which countries propose their own goals.

Bush has a 10-year domestic program anchored on research and technology to cut "greenhouse gas intensity" 18 percent by 2012. U.N. data show U.S. emissions are up 13 percent since 1990 and Dobriansky could not say when they would go below 1990 levels. Washington's stonewalling has many negotiators and activists worried the Buenos Aires conference may end on Friday without any progress in talks. They point to reports that show the world in the midst of some of its hottest weather and biggest natural disaster destruction. Host country Argentina and the EU are keen on some seminars for informal talks next year to keep climate change talks rolling.

QUOTE OF THE DAY ... Where books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too. Heinrich Heine, a German-Jewish poet [19th Century]

DEBT NOW TO AVOID DEBT LATER ... As Always, "Daily KOS" Commentary Gives Us Some Insightful Facts ... Compared To The Lies & Deceit By Bush Regime
Thu Dec 16th, 2004
Here's the key fact about Bush's social security plan ... The president's Social Security proposals may cost $1 trillion to $2 trillion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Bush's contention that spending $1 trillion to $2 trillion now to establish the accounts is better than dealing with a $10.4 trillion shortfall in the future is misleading, said Jason Furman, former economic policy director for Democratic Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign.

The $10.4 trillion is an estimate over the infinite life of Social Security, he said on a conference call with reporters earlier this week. A more realistic assessment of the system's deficit is $3.7 trillion over 75 years, the conventional time span for Social Security estimates, he said. Reducing the figure is a "manageable challenge," Furman said. Bush promised to cut the deficit in half during his second term. The reality will look much different. The budget deficit is forecast to be $348 billion in the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30 and probably will continue at an annual rate of about $300 billion or more for the balance of Bush's term ending 2008, according to the non-partisan CBO.

The CBO projects a deficit of $2.3 trillion over the next decade. That will grow to $3.6 trillion if Congress adopts other Bush proposals, such as extending tax cuts when most of them expire in 2010 and allowing middle-class families to avoid the alternative minimum tax, the CBO estimated. And those numbers don't include the hundreds of billions being sunk into the Iraq black hole.

[Duchess Note ... I'll have a long, updated version of "Personal News" sometime this week. Stay tuned. . . . . .]