GREENPEACE CALLS CLINTON PROPOSAL BLACK WEDNESDAY FOR CLIMATE TALKS

Washington, DC, 22 October 1997

Today the Clinton/Gore Administration announced its official negotiating position as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The position calls for a stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels during a budget period from 2008-2012.

"This is the black Wednesday for the climate negotiations," said Kalee Kreider, Director of the Greenpeace USA Climate Campaign. "President Clinton has broken the promise he made at the 2nd Earth Summit where he called for 'a strong American commitment to realistic and binding limits that will significantly reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases.' To respond with such complacency to climate change is to ignore the threat to human health and the environment."

Industry groups have funded a $13 million advertising campaign in the US designed to derail any agreement at Kyoto and the oil and gas industry alone has funneled over $50 million into the coffers of both US political parties.

The US position is far behind the European Union proposal which calls for a 15 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2010 with an interim 7.5 percent reduction by 2005 all based upon 1990 levels. Greenpeace, along with the Alliance of Small Island States, supports a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2005 based upon 1990 levels - a position that is just within nature's safety limits.

"If the US position as reported were adopted at Kyoto, then we would consider the agreement a failure," continued Kreider.

Clinton also announced that the US would support a set of tax breaks and financial incentives to promote renewable technologies and energy efficiency into the marketplace. The Administration will not, however, remove large corporate subsidies to the coal, oil, and gas companies, the industries most responsible for climate change. Approximately 98 percent of US emissions of carbon dioxide come from the burning of oil (40 percent), coal (35 percent), and gas (22 percent).

"Five years ago at the Rio Summit, Al Gore and Bill Clinton accused the Bush White House of being the `lone holdout' and an `obstacle to progress' after it refused to support mandatory (as opposed to the non-mandatory agreement ultimately signed) curbs on greenhouse gases. Now, it is Al Gore and Bill Clinton who are the obstacles," concluded Kreider.

For more information contact -

Kalee Kreider, 202 319 2523 (office) 202 236 2579 (mobile)

Andrew Davies, 202 319 2432

Holger Roenitz, in Bonn 011 31 653 417 945

Bill Hare, in Bonn 011 31 653 433 454