US facing pressure to sign up to future climate protocols

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article331163.ece

The United States will this week face intense lobbying in an effort to force concrete action from the Bush administration over climate change when ministers from around the world meet at a United Nations summit in Canada. A failure to obtain some concession from the US would lead to further condemnation of both President George Bush and Tony Blair, who has said he believes a legally-binding commitment is achievable.

When the talks on climate change opened last week, the US chief negotiator made clear the US would not be part of a binding agreement to cut emissions of greenhouse gases once the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012. "We would certainly not agree to the United States being part of legally binding targets and timetable agreement post-2012," said Harlan Watson.

But in this second week of talks, conducted by high-level ministers, the US will be strongly lobbied by conference hosts Canada and the EU, of which Britain currently holds the presidency. They believe that Mr Watson's initial flat-out refusal may have been a negotiating tactic and that the US could be persuaded to move from that position.

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We can only hope they will listen!!!