By Andrew Ward in Washington
Published: May 31 2007
President George W. Bush on Thursday committed the US for the first time to take part in negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto treaty and agreed to set goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The decision appeared to mark a landmark break by Washington from its longstanding opposition to global limits on carbon emissions, although the US plans still fall short of some European demands.
A senior US administration official said Mr Bush would announce the new position in a speech in Washington on Thursday morning.
Mr Bush was expected to pledge to work with several other large economies, including China and India, to agree a “long-term goal” for reduction in emissions, together with strategies for achieving the target, within 18 months – before he leaves office in January 2009.
The official said the US would seek to convene a conference to set the process in motion, possibly as early as this autumn.
By Timothy Gardner, Reuters
NEW YORK - President George W. Bush said his voluntary plan to cut greenhouse gases is on track, citing a 2006 dip in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, but environmentalists say the change is a temporary blip that goes against an overall trend.
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels dropped 1.3 percent last year, the Energy Information Administration said late on Wednesday, the third time in 16 years that these emissions fell. Total U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions have grown 17.9 percent since 1990.
Bush, who opposes mandatory caps on emissions, said in a statement on Wednesday night that this report puts his program for reducing greenhouse gas intensity — the amount of emissions per unit of economic growth — “well ahead of what is needed” to meet the White House goal of cutting this figure by 18 percent by 2012.
Reuters
May 21, 2007
WASHINGTON - World emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide increased three times faster after 2000 than in the 1990s, putting them at the high end of a range of forecasts by an international climate change panel, scientists reported on Monday.
At the same time, a trend toward cutting Earth’s energy intensity — the ratio of how much energy is needed to produce a unit of gross domestic product — appears to have stalled or even reversed in recent years, the researchers reported.
“This paper should be a rallying cry,” said Chris Field, a co-author of the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
Published: May 23, 2007
WASHINGTON - Backed by numerous environmental groups and about a dozen other states, California officials demanded federal permission Tuesday to impose their own greenhouse gas emission controls on cars and other vehicles.
The only voice of opposition at an Environmental Protection Agency hearing came from an auto industry lobbyist who deemed California’s approach “counterproductive” and said there was no proof it would help deal with global warming.
“This is more important than any issue that EPA’s going to have to face,” California Attorney General Jerry Brown told regulators who will recommend whether to give California the waiver it needs to implement its emissions law.
At least 11 other states are ready to follow California’s lead.
Gas now at highest level, even adjusted for inflation; AAA’s reading of nearly $3.20 a gallon marks ninth straight record high in current dollars.
May 21, 2007
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Gasoline prices have soared to levels never seen before as even the inflation-adjusted price for a gallon of unleaded topped the 1981 record spike in price that had stood for 26 years.
And higher prices could be on the way as Americans get ready to hit the road for the Memorial Day holiday and the start of the summer driving season.
Two different surveys found record high pump prices once again.
The nation’s retailers say soaring gas prices are prompting U.S. consumers to cut back on their purchases and shopping trips.
The Lundberg Survey, a bi-weekly gas price tracking service, put the price of a gallon of unleaded at $3.18 in its latest reading released late Sunday, up more than 11 cents from its reading of two weeks ago.
While gasoline had already been in record territory in current dollars, Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the survey, said this is the first time that her survey topped her 1981 record high when adjusted for inflation.
