International Climate Action Urged, sans Bush

U.N. Chief Urges Immediate Climate Action
Published: September 24, 2007

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-UN-Climate-Summit.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The U.N High-Level Event on Climate Change at the United Nations General Assembly in New York began today. The one day meeting, organized by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, was organized to build political momentum toward launching negotiations later this year for deep cutbacks in emissions of carbon dioxide and other manmade gases responsible for global warming.

“Inaction now will prove the costliest action of all in the long term,” Ban said in his opening address to the summit. A breakthrough is needed in global talks to sharply reduce emissions of global-warming gases and “the time for doubt has passed.”

President Bush wasn’t participating in the day’s meeting. Rather than accept treaty obligations, Bush has urged industry to cut emissions voluntarily, and emphasizes research on clean-energy technology as one answer. A strategy that is clearly not working as demonstrated in our local community by Santee Cooper’s eagerness to build a coal plant that does not even use the best available technology.