Miami Herald:
Kyoto treaty offers opportunities
BY TIMOTHY E. WIRTH
The Kyoto Protocol took effect this week, beginning the worldwide process of reducing the emissions that are causing global warming. As one of the negotiators of that international accord, I know how big the climate change challenge is -- but where there is challenge, there is also opportunity.
Businesses increasingly are grasping the fact that a transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy systems presents enormous opportunities for innovation and change -- opportunities to offer consumers worldwide products and services that reduce carbon emissions and boost energy-usage efficiencies. Past cycles of innovation tell us that the pioneers -- not the laggards -- take home the jobs and economic benefits.
The UN Foundation sponsored a program at the United Nations on Thursday, February 17, entitled "One Day after Kyoto: Next Steps on Climate."
Senator Chuck Hagel made the following remarks at the event: "There will always be uncertainties and incomplete information in any climate science or climate policy. But that should not inhibit our commitment to developing climate policies based on sound science. The question we face is not whether we should take action on climate change, but what kind of action we should take. Climate change is a shared responsibility for all nations, including the United States. Global climate policy affects the world's economic, energy, and environmental policies." Read the rest of the speech...
"The Kyoto treaty against global warming came into force today with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan urging the world to save the planet by adding to the limits on greenhouse gases and the UN environment chief stressing that many in the United States, the world's top polluter, support the protocol despite the US Government's opposition." More...