World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong (WWF) condemns the decision by United States President George W. Bush to evade the Kyoto protocol on global warming.
Other countries must ratify the Kyoto protocol this summer irrespective of what the US does, and the Hong Kong Government must set targets for reducing our impact on global warming.
The Kyoto protocol, agreed by major powers in 1997, aims to reduce emission of global-warming gases such as carbon dioxide by an average of 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. Mr Bush pledged during his election campaign to curb emissions from America's power plants but has now gone back on his promise by saying he opposes the Kyoto agreement.
He cites arguments such as 'incomplete state of scientific knowledge' on global warming, 'serious harm to the US economy' and 'the agreement exempts most of the world'.
Mr Bush is factually incorrect. Scientific evidence from a recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that the Earth's atmosphere will warm by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius by 2100. Such a dramatic climate change will elevate sea levels, induce more extreme weather conditions and exacerbate threats to biodiversity.
Meanwhile, a variety of studies done by WWF and other groups have shown that radical cuts in the use of coal, oil and gas in tandem with big increases in the use of renewable energy are not only feasible but also financially viable.
Mr Bush's statement that the Kyoto protocol exempts most of the world is also misleading.