Greenpeace UK today called on Tony Blair to invoke Britain's 'special relationship' with the US to help reverse President George Bush's abrupt decision to back off from promises to cut carbon dioxide emissions from US power stations.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Stephanie Tunmore said,
"This is a real challenge for Prime Minister Tony Blair who last week declared a personal interest in protecting the climate. As he said then, Britain's role in the EU and its links with America make it a key country in reaching agreement to reduce greenhouse gases."
"If Blair has any hope of making his green vision a reality he must step in now and prevent President Bush from undermining the rest of the world's efforts to halt the destruction of the climate".
Bush's pre-election pledge was reiterated just last week by newly appointed US Environmental Protection Agency Head Christine Whitman at the G8 Environment Minister's Summit in Trieste, Italy. Her remarks led the meeting to believe that the new US administration was serious about tackling climate change, and she specifically mentioned the limits on power plant emissions as a US commitment to take domestic action to fight global warming.
Greenpeace International's Climate Policy Director Bill Hare, referring to Bush's history as a Texas oil man, and Vice President Dick Cheney's long career in the oil services industry, said,
"When you put two oil men in the White House, I guess this is what you have to expect. Apparently Mrs. Whitman's environmentally responsible position has not carried the day, and we can expect the Neanderthal, head-in-the-sand rhetoric of Bush to prevail in this administration."
President Bush appears to be rejecting the worldwide scientific consensus on global warming and its causes, particularly the three recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the science and impacts of climate change, and the economics of fighting it.
Greenpeace emphasised that this development reinforces the need for the European Union and others to accelerate their efforts towards ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
Further information:
Contact Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8285
