U.s. Pledges Fast Action On Revised Climate Pact

June 12, 1992|By Gary Marx, Chicago Tribune.

RIO DE JANEIRO — In an effort to smooth the way for President Bush`s arrival Thursday night at the Earth Summit, the chief U.S. negotiator announced a program to speed U.S. compliance with a recently negotiated treaty on worldwide climate change to curb global warming.

The negotiator, William Reilly, said the U.S. would not only sign the treaty here, but speed it to the U.S. Senate for quick ratification and advance by six months the completion of a detailed ``action plan`` for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The plan will be complete by Jan. 1, he said.

The six-point program also calls for stepped-up monitoring of emissions from electrical generating plants-which produce one-third of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions-and provides for $25 million over two years to developing nations to take inventory of their emissions and carry out energy projects.

Reilly said the U.S. would continue spending a large amount for climate change and other scientific research. The Bush administration proposal for fiscal 1993 is $1.4 billion, a figure Reilly called ``the largest amount of any government in the world.``

``The climate change treaty is a vital first step and a promising instrument in addressing this global environmental threat, and the sooner we realize its implementation, the better off we all shall be,`` said Reilly, who also announced a U.S. plan to form an international commission of scientists to collect data, classify and study plant and animal species worldwide.

Environmentalists immediately criticized both plans, saying they fall far short of what is needed and are primarily an effort by the Bush administration to lessen criticism in Rio of U.S. environmental policy in advance of Bush`s two-day visit.

The U.S. successfully lobbied to delete a provision in the climate-change treaty that would have committed nations to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000-a goal supported by most other industrialized nations. The U.S. also is the only industrialized nation refusing to sign the biodiversity treaty aimed at protecting the world`s plant and animal species.

Scott Hajost, international counsel for the Washington-based Environmental Defense Fund, reacted coolly.

``This certainly isn`t a Marshall Plan for the environment. It doesn`t make up for the Bush administration`s refusal to commit to reducing carbon emissions or to signing the biodiversity treaty,`` he said.

Reilly`s announcement came as delegates from 178 nations continue intense negotiations to resolve remaining differences on numerous key issues, and as dozens of world leaders arrived in Rio to address the plenary session beginning Friday.

The three-day meeting is the last forum for delegates and world leaders to resolve differences before Sunday`s closing of the Earth Summit, formally known as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

The main unresolved issues concern the text on financing and the atmosphere contained in Agenda 21-the primary Earth Summit document which outlines the goals and methods of economic development and environmental protection into the 21st Century. Industrialized nations and some developing countries also are battling over a set of principles on forestry protection.

Developing nations insist that Agenda 21 requires that industrialized nations commit to donating 0.7 percent of their annual GNP toward development assistance by the year 2000. But Japan and several European nations-including Spain and Portugal-oppose the eight-year deadline and prefer the wording: ``by the year 2000, or as soon as possible.``

The United States, which says it isn`t bound by the 0.7 percent commitment under any time frame, also is fighting with developing countries to remove an Agenda 21 clause requiring rich nations to provide development assistance ``without imposing conditionality.`` The U.S. and other

industrialized nations fear the clause could sharply reduce their ability to control how development assistance is spent.

The U.S. and most developed nations also are battling with India and Malaysia over a set of principles on forestry protection which could eventually lead to a comprehensive worldwide forestry treaty-the prime goal of U.S. negotiators in Rio and something President Bush hopes to highlight during his visit.

The two Asian nations-both have vast timber resources- oppose several Agenda 21 clauses presaging international supervision of their forests, contending they would violate their national sovereignty.

The two sides reportedly have narrowed their differences in marathon negotiations over the last 24 hours. The U.S. and European nations have won the support of African nations for language to support negotiating a forestry treaty, delegates say, in exchange for backing their efforts to gain a future treaty on desertification.

U.S. negotiators also appear ready to offer India and Malaysia technological assistance if the two nations drop their opposition to negotiating a forestry treaty. Meanwhile, the U.S. and other developed nations have withdrawn support for a clause to impose trade sanctions on nations failing to implement sustainable development programs in their forests-something that has angered environmentalists.

``I wouldn`t suggest that there isn`t a little bit of horse trading going on,`` said Michael Young, deputy chief U.S. negotiator.