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Carbon Dioxide Reduction Target

I am not sure that I would concede that. The US Administration is under enormous domestic pressure. Having lost domestic legislative elections, having been subject to Al Gore’s campaign to raise awareness in the US, and with states like California and north-east states ploughing on with emissions reduction campaigns on their own, George Bush has been looking more and more isolated and unrealistic. It was clear that he would have to make some concessions in this direction, and he has done so only under great pressure. His suggestion that the Kyoto process, under the auspices of the UN, should be abandoned for some kind of side-deal with a group of high-emitting nations is profoundly unhelpful and threatens to undermine the Kyoto process. In practice, Kyoto is the only game in town and we do not have time to reinvent the wheel. We have an international framework in place there. In the sense that the American Administration are accepting that carbon emissions need to be reduced, I guess that that is a positive step, but in terms of targets, we really need to be tougher with the US and tougher with ourselves in respect of the Climate Change Bill. The signs from the G8 were not very promising, but that involved the outgoing Prime Minister representing the UK. I simply hope that the new Prime Minister will take a more robust stance.