Tim Yeo: Remember Neville Chamberlain. And don’t forget Kyoto

Tony Blair and Angela Merkel put a brave face on the G8 summit, but the truth is that the world is more likely to experience dangerous climate change than it was a week ago. Even rose-tinted spectacles cannot conceal the fact that the outcome falls woefully short of what is needed. Far from being a breakthrough, President George Bush’s belated acceptance that the United States must be involved in discussions about the post-Kyoto framework was the least he could do. The American Congress, much of the business community, and many US states are now far ahead of the President in recognising the urgency of the climate change threat and the commercial opportunities that its solutions offer.

independent