US
to host global warming summit
RTE
News
Friday,
3 August 2007 15:20
The
Bush administration has announced plans for a high-level conference on global
warming next month that would bring together the world's biggest polluters to
seek agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
US
President George W Bush issued invitations to 11 other countries plus the EU and
the UN to attend the meeting on 27-28 September in Washington.
The
conference is intended to work towards setting a long-term goal by 2008 to cut
emissions.
Mr
Bush had proposed the conference, which will be hosted by US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, in late May before the G8 summit, but had withheld details until
now.
In
a letter to invitees, Mr Bush assures them that 'the US is committed to collaborating
with other major economies' to agree on a global framework for cutting emissions.
Mr
Bush agreed with other leaders of the G8 in June to make 'substantial' but unspecified
reductions in emissions and to negotiate a new global climate pact that would
extend and broaden the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012.
But
he has refused to sign up to numerical targets before rising powers like China
and India make similar pledges.
Convincing
these countries to join the UN process will be crucial to reversing a rise in
global temperatures.
China
and India are among the countries invited to the September conference, which will
also include Japan, Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Indonesia
and South Africa.
