Other Public Statements 2007
How can the world’s largest economies ensure both energy security and economic development and, at the same time, address climate change and reduce green house gas emissions? Finding an answer to this question is a critical task uniting the world. It is a primary goal of U.S. environmental policy. And it is a debt we owe to our descendants.
The United States has a long record of environmental protection, dating from the 1970 passage of the Clean Air Act and creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. These early efforts led, as one example, to the phase-out of leaded gasoline in the early 1980s, decades before Europe followed suit. Between 2000 and 2005 the US economy grew by 12 percent, the US population expanded by 15,000,000 people, while U.S. greenhouse gas emissions grew by less than 1.6 percent. During this same period the EU-27 also limited greenhouse gas emissions to the same growth -- 1.5 percent -- an important accomplishment, while the EU economy grew by 5.3 percent and its population remained stable. Over the last six years, we have spent over $37 billion on basic environmental research.
On September 27-28 in Washington, D.C., the U.S. hosted the Major Economies Meeting (MEM) on Energy Security and Climate Change, an initiative based on the fundamental premise that climate change is a generational challenge that requires a global response. This was the first of a series of gatherings that will include 17 of the world’s major economies, developed and developing, as well as the European Commission and the United Nations. Combined, the participating countries represent about 85 percent of the global economy and 80 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. This initiative was endorsed by G-8 leaders in June and by the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders in Sydney, Australia earlier this month.
The Major Economies Meetings process builds on the model of the Montreal Protocol from the late 1980s, which was described by former US Secretary General Kofi Annan as “the most important and successful environmental treaty ever negotiated.” As with the Montreal Protocol, the MEM aims at being the “engine” that drives forward the United Nations effort to fight global warming. Agreement among these major economies will benefit all nations and contribute to a new global agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by 2009.
Now is the time for the world’s biggest producers – and biggest emitters - to develop consensus on a new, effective framework on climate change that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol after it terminates in 2012. During the MEM, government, private sector, and non-governmental organizations discussed each nation’s activities related to energy security and climate change, opportunities and priorities for progress after 2012, urgent needs for research into and development of clean energy technologies, and identified areas for collaboration.
A post-2012 framework should engage all countries. It should recognize the diversity of solutions and approaches that nations will take, based on their needs and resources, to combat climate change. Rather than a “one size fits all” approach, we advocate flexibility, innovation and teamwork on a global scale. If the world’s major economies can agree on a way forward, that consensus would accelerate a broader agreement through the United Nations. It would stimulate the sustained global commitment it will take – from developed and developing nations – to protect and manage the planet’s fragile balance for our children and for generations to come.
In her speech last week at the UN, Greek Foreign Minister Bakoyiannis referred to the tragic wildfires that claimed 67 lives in August, urging world leaders to “send a strong message to negotiators at Bali on the utmost urgency of achieving a global agreement on mitigation.” We agree completely. Following on the recently concluded MEM, the US will continue taking a leading role in international efforts to combat climate change. As the largest greenhouse gas emitting nation, our responsibility can be no less.