Under European Pressure, US Backs Off Carbon Sinks In Effort To Pass Kyoto Treaty
Copyright 2000 Bulletin Broadfaxing Network, Inc; The Bulletin's Frontrunner
November 20, 2000
The New York Times (11/20, Revkin) reported, "In a shift that is likely to brighten prospects for a global warming treaty, American negotiators at talks here have said the United States would be willing to limit its use of forest projects to reach its target for reducing heat- trapping greenhouse gases." The Times added, "The United States, by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, calculated last summer that its vast forests, by absorbing up to 300 million tons a year of carbon dioxide, could help it get halfway to its pledged target under the treaty, reducing emissions by 2012 to 7 percent below where they were in 1990. It also wants to get credit for paying for forest-protection and tree-planting projects in other countries." The Times added, "But Europe, too crowded to take advantage of forests, and many private environmental groups say crediting forest growth would allow the United States and other large, forested countries to meet their targets without undertaking the much harder, and potentially costlier, task of reducing greenhouse gases at the source: mainly tailpipes and smokestacks." The Times quoted a Greenpeace activist calling the carbon sinks "a major free ride for the US" and a "get-out-of-jail-free card."