U.S. President George Bush says the goals of protecting the environment, strengthening energy security, and fostering economic growth can be achieved:
“We believe the only way to achieve these goals is through continued advances in technology. So we’ve pursued a series of policies aimed at encouraging the rise of innovative as well as more cost-effective clean energy technologies that can help America and developing nations reduce greenhouse gases, reduce our dependence on oil, and keep our economies vibrant and strong for decades to come.”
Climate change and energy security were the topics of the third Major Economies Meeting in Paris, a U.S.-led initiative involving seventeen leading economies, including the United States and the United Nations. Speaking on the eve of that meeting, Mr. Bush said the U.S. is “on a path to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions”:
“In 2002, I announced our first step: to reduce America’s greenhouse gas intensity by eighteen percent though 2012. I’m pleased to say that we remain on track to meet this goal even as our economy has grown seventeen percent.”
Looking beyond 2012, Mr. Bush announced a new goal, “to stop the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.” To accomplish this, the U.S. will pursue a strategy that includes new fuel economy standards and incentives for new fuels like cellulosic ethanol; more efficient use of power; the development of clean coal and other clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power, and incentives to restore lands and forests. However, reducing global greenhouse emissions, said Mr. Bush, cannot be done effectively by the U.S. alone:
“To be effective, this approach will require commitments by all major economies to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.”
President Bush said the U.S. will “call on all nations to help spark a global clean energy revolution by agreeing immediately to eliminate trade barriers on clean energy goods and services.”
