Editorial: Greenhouse gas emissions

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007 | 7:08 a.m.

Delegates from 187 countries - including the United States - have agreed to a two-year global discussion about cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The Bali Action Plan, which is more about planning than taking action, contains no caps or limits on greenhouse gas emissions. It does acknowledge, however, that "deep cuts in global emissions will be required" in the future and calls for two years of talks before such reductions are set.

The accord, signed in the last hour of a two-week international climate change conference, is the first major global warming agreement since the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997.

Throughout the conference, the Bush administration remained steadfast in opposing any agreement that called for specific cuts in emissions, despite the fact that the United States emits about a quarter of the globe's greenhouse gases.

President Bush has said developed countries should not be the only ones asked to abide by emissions reductions - a thinly veiled reference to nations such as China and India, whose energy consumption is beginning to rival that of developed nations.

During the conference, officials from China and other developing countries said they would seek "measurable, reportable and verifiable" ways to cut emissions, The New York Times reported Monday. Those nations are not likely to embrace mandatory reductions, however, so long as they fear that such reductions might interfere with their emerging economies. The United States could, by signing a treaty with mandatory reductions, demonstrate that being environmentally responsible and being economically successful don't have to be mutually exclusive.

It is ridiculous for Bush to insist that the United States - one of the most advanced countries in the world - be asked to do no more than less-developed nations such as China. We should be leading the world in cutting emissions, not playing follow the leader.

Ultimately, it will be up to Bush's successor to be more globally responsible and scientifically minded in taking significant steps to curb global warming.