Germany Disappointed About U.S. Global Warming Proposal

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, February 17, 2002

Germany Disappointed About U.S. Global Warming Proposal

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German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin has expressed disappointment over U.S. President George W. Bush's latest proposal to fight global warming, the newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung" (FAZ) reported Friday.

"I welcome the fact that President Bush's program recognizes the need to take action against climatic changes. After reading, however, I find the contents of the program disappointing," Trittin said.

Bush Thursday announced an initiative on combating global warming, setting targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions that are linked to economic growth. He proposed 4.6 billion U.S. dollars in tax credits to encourage companies to switch to clean fuels in the next five years.

Trittin stressed that given the non-binding nature of the proposal, one could hardly expect a significant reduction in emissions in the United States. Instead, tying emissions goals to

the gross domestic product will allow them to rise further.

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 14 percent since 1990 and carbon dioxide by as much as 16.7 percent. The program will allow the emissions to rise by 28 to 29 percent from the 1990 levels through 2012, said Trittin.

Washington, to the anger of Germans and Europeans as well, rejected the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires about 40 industrial countries to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels

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