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Blair Pledges to Press Bush to Sign Agreement on Global Warming
British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged on Wednesday that he would press United States President George W. Bush to sign an agreement on curbing global warming.
During his questions time in the House of Commons, Blair said it was of "vital importance to the world" that carbon dioxide emissions were cut across the globe.
His comments were made several days after the Bush administration's decision to abandon the Kyoto treaty committing governments to cut emissions of polluting greenhouse gases.
Blair insisted the agreement was the "right way forward" and said he would raise the subject in further talks with Bush.
"We continue to believe the Kyoto protocol provides the best framework for dealing with climate change. It is a problem that affects rich and poor countries alike," he said.
"We obviously want to hear the views and ideas from the new administration as to how we reduce those emissions. I have no doubt at all there will be intensive negotiations on this in the run-up to the next round of talks in July and I hope we can find agreement on a way forward," the prime minister said.
Blair said he believed that the British public backed efforts to prevent climate change.
"There is a vast reservoir of good intention out there among members of the public to help in this process and by putting in the lead investment we hope to be able to mobilize that in order to be able to improve the situation for the local environment in each part of the country," he said.
The Kyoto Protocol, signed 1997 in Japan by the United States and several other industrialized nations, was intended to cut carbon dioxide emissions across the world and curb global warming. But Bush said several days ago that U.S. would not be abide by that treaty.
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