Global Policy Forum

United States Hurts Its Own Goals as It Shuns the International
Treaty to Combat Global Warming

There's one in every neighborhood: the petulant, uncooperative homeowner who refuses to cut the grass in his front yard, drives faster than the speed limit and is content letting others pick up trash he thoughtlessly dumped at the curb. You know the type. As the larger community of developed countries has banded together to combat global warming, the intransigence of our government has cast the United States in that unflattering role. In this case, however, the consequences of our irresponsible behavior are far graver than those of your typically boorish neighbor.

After almost eight years of negotiation and delay, the Kyoto Protocol officially goes into effect Wednesday. The international treaty binds 131 signatory nations to gradually lower their output of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" produced by human activities such as burning coal to produce electricity. A lengthening list of scientific studies conducted by our own government as well as independent researchers has confirmed that the proliferation of these gases is melting ancient glaciers, raising sea levels, endangering low-lying areas and threatening the survival of plant and animal species around the world. All of the European Union countries have ratified the treaty, as has Russia, a reluctant latecomer hoping to join the organization for economic, if not environmental, reasons. Besides America, the only other Kyoto holdouts with mature economies are Australia and Monaco.

There's a great irony here: One of the reasons negotiations dragged on so long was the initial insistence of U.S. officials that the final Kyoto document contain a "cap-and-trade" system. As envisioned, participants that reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions more than required by the treaty would be allowed to sell their excess pollution "credits" to companies that exceed their mandated limits. Other delegates begrudgingly went along with the trading scheme, only to watch America walk away from the table when the Senate voted it down and President Bush reneged on a campaign pledge to sign the accords if elected.

The problem isn't only that many of our elected officials have spurned the Kyoto Protocol, it's that they've refused to admit that global warming is occurring. Since the United States, with 4 percent of the world's population, is responsible for 25 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, it's incumbent that we show leadership befitting world's last remaining superpower. That isn't happening. Bush and the nation's lawmakers have refused to increase fuel efficiency for American-made cars and trucks, an overdue move that would lower carbon emissions while reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy. They've also been lukewarm to forward-looking legislation such as the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act that would mandate limits on greenhouse gases for polluting industries.

Granted, the Kyoto Protocol isn't perfect; it unwisely exempts fast-growing nations, including China and India, that are America's economic competitors and major sources of unchecked greenhouse gases. Given the projected rate of global warming, some fear Kyoto may be too little, too late. But it's foolish for our nation to continue contributing to the problem while idly waiting for the perfect solution to materialize — it won't. British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently pointed out why it's critical for the United States to remember the good-neighbor policy when it comes to global warming. "If America wants the rest of the world to be part of the agenda it has set," Blair said, "it must be part of their agenda, too."