GEORGE STILL DOESN'T GET IT - STILL HIDING BEHIND UNCERTAINTY

11 June 2001

Amsterdam - Greenpeace denounced George Bush's speech on climate change in the Rose Garden today, saying that his interpretation of climate science is fantasy at best, and deliberately misleading at worst. Hiding behind the uncertainties that remain in our understanding of the climate, he called for more scientific research while at the same time rejecting any real action to protect the climate.

"Bush talked about accepting the US' responsibility for climate change. But what he said in fact is that the US will do nothing except put more money into studying the problem, and investing in technologies to capture carbon from the atmosphere," said Bill Hare, Greenpeace Climate Policy Director.

"The world's climate scientists all agree that the most important step is to cut emissions now. Bush is condemning our children and theirs to a world with millions of displaced people, floods, droughts, agricultural dislocation, and extreme weather events. The rest of the world, and particularly the EU, cannot accept this.

"Bush says he wants developing countries involved. They already are involved. However, one of the premises of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change is that the countries who are responsible for 80% of the current buildup of greenhouse gases, who also happen to be the richest countries in the world, are the ones who have to take the first serious steps to address it. The Kyoto Protocol represents those first steps.

"Bush seeks to blame the climate change problem on developing countries when in fact, the United States' greenhouse gas emissions have increased FASTER than those of China, the largest developing nation. The US is responsible for 25% of global emissions, whereas India and China are responsible for 6% and 12% respectively; and the US emits 15 times more greenhouse gases per capita than India, and 9 times more than China."

"It sounds like Bush wants to turn South America into a sink," said Hare, referring to Bush's remarks on 'hemispheric' solutions. "His analysis appears to be based on wild, wishful thinking about sequestering carbon dioxide in the biosphere. We'll make sure he gets a very 'warm' welcome in Europe, but perhaps not the kind of 'warm' he had in mind."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
For further information:
Bill Hare: +49-1709057015
Steve Sawyer: +31-6-53504715
Susan Cavanagh: +31-6-21296910