Meeting of minds sought on climate change

The climate change debate will be torn between two important meetings in the US next week, reports Anne Davies.

Susan Taylor of Oregon is facing possible legal action for hanging out her clothes in her backyard as part of her small effort to reduce her carbon footprint. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that drying clothes on a line is prohibited in her exclusive suburb in Awbrey Butte, which is governed by a community association.

There are 60 million people in the US who live in similar communities. Even where there are no such rules, clothes lines are a rarity in the US. People prefer to use tumble dryers, which consume 6 per cent of all electricity used in American homes.

On Wednesday, while spruiking his new book, the former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan produced another extraordinary statistic: one in seven barrels of oil produced in the world is burnt on US highways. Asked what he would do to combat global warming, he said the US has to reduce its consumption of oil, suggesting a $3 a gallon (3.8 litres) tax on petrol may be necessary to break America’s oil addiction.

Such tales of US energy profligacy stand in stark contrast with experiences in developing countries, such as India, where a reliable electricity supply is still a luxury.

Two important meetings on climate change are about to take place in the US. The first is at the United Nations in New York on Monday. The second, convened by the US President, George Bush, is in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

Both are about what the world should do after 2012 when the Kyoto protocol on climate change expires. While both will no doubt be polite diplomatic affairs, lurking below the surface are some deeply held views about how to share the costs fairly and the investment and lifestyle changes necessary to stabilise and then reverse changes in the Earth’s climate due to greenhouse gases.

The US bottom line is that it will be part of an agreement only if it includes obligations for rapidly developing counties such as India and China. It argues China has passed the US as the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. Unless China is also obligated, the gains made by developing countries will be eaten up by China’s emissions.

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)