US President George Bush and his European allies 鈥渁greed to disagree鈥� about the Kyoto protocol when they met in Goteberg, Sweden, on Thursday. In response, angry environmentalists called on the US government to keep away from July鈥檚 talks in Bonn that are intended to sew up the treaty.
Bush said on the eve of his trip to Europe that the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, signed in outline by the previous US administration, was 鈥渇atally flawed鈥�.
But European leaders have stuck by their determination to proceed with the protocol, which sets targets for industrialised nations to cut their emissions of the main greenhouse gases.
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The summit of EU leaders, which continues to Saturday, is expected to confirm the statement of the Swedish prime minister Goeran Persson that the protocol is a 鈥渘ecessary document鈥�.
Make or break
Bush, who wants a more 鈥渟cientific鈥� treaty, says that his negotiators will attend the talks in Bonn from 16 to 27 July. He has hinted that a presidential task force may by then have detailed alternative proposals to offer.
But European leaders, while presenting a common front about going ahead with the protocol, are divided about whether it is worth offering the US a way back into the talks. Some believe Bush was taken by surprise at Europe鈥檚 strident reaction to his abrupt dumping of the protocol in March and hope he might welcome a face-saving formula.
Others take Bush at his word and believe it is not worth attempting to bring him back on board. And that, said environmentalists demonstrating in Goteberg, raises questions about whether Bush鈥檚 team should be welcomed in Bonn.
鈥淚f the US is not prepared to joint the global fight against climate change it should keep away from next month鈥檚 talks,鈥� said Kate Hampton of Friends of the Earth International.
The task of completing the fine print of the protocol was brought a step closer on Tuesday. Negotiations chairman, the Dutch environment minister Jan Pronk, offered new proposals designed to encourage Japan, Russian and east European countries to stick with the EU. Insiders say one key concession would give Japan extra rights to claim credit for planting forests in other countries to soak up carbon dioxide.