US seeks dialogue with India, China on climate change

WASHINGTON:  US President George Bush wants to initiate a dialogue with countries like India and China to establish a new international framework to address global climate change once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

The Bush plan would have 10 to 15 countries that consume the most energy and emit the largest quantities of greenhouse gases discuss a post-Kyoto arrangement at international meetings convened initially by the United States.

"I believe there ought to be an international goal. How we arrive at that goal is to set out a process where greenhouse gas emitters, including developing nations, ought to be at the table," Bush said explaining his initiative launched ahead of the June 6-8 G-8 Summit in Germany where global climate change is expected to be among major topics.

"As you know full well, that one could have a very strict regime on greenhouse gases, but if nothing were done with countries like India or China, all would be for naught. So I thought it made sense to include a variety of nations that are actually producing greenhouse gases, including Russia and China and India and the United States and the EU and others," he said.

At a briefing on the summit, National Security Advisor Steven Hadley said Friday Bush and other G-8 leaders will meet with leaders of the so-called G-8 outreach countries: Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.

Bush, he said had talked to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to explain that there has been an ongoing dialogue about what to do with the interconnected challenges of secure energy, sustainable development, economic growth, pollution, and climate change.

"These are interrelated issues, and interrelated because, as you know, over time the greatest emitters of greenhouse gases will increasingly be developing countries like India and China. So they need to be part of the solution, and they won't be if the price of being part of the solution is they have to forgo development and economic growth for their people," he said.

Hadley dismissed the suggestion that the Bush plan was an attempt to eclipse Merkel's own efforts and described it as an effort to try and find consensus on the way ahead.  Some people think that the G-8 countries ought to set the goal. "That is a little bit inconsistent with the notion that it needs to reflect a broader community, particularly all the emitting countries and some of the key emitting countries like India and China don't sit with the G-8."

"In addition to trying to find consensus, including with countries like India and China, on a long-term vision for where we want to be on greenhouse gases, we're going to work to develop, each country will develop its own national strategies on a midterm basis in the next 10 to 20 years on where they want to take their efforts to improve energy security, reduce air pollution, and also reduce greenhouse gases."

Connaughton said he was looking forward to a very constructive G-8 outcome.  What Bush wants to do is to create neutral ground where China and India are on the same ground the United States and Europe are on, to have this discussion at a very high level.