[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16123]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

  (Mr. ALLEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I have returned from Johannesburg, South 
Africa where I attended the World Summit on Sustainable Development. 
The summit produced some achievements such as the agreement to improve 
water and sewer sanitation in the Third World. The U.S. delegation also 
successfully promoted public-private partnerships to solve some 
environmental problems. But when it came to climate change, it had no 
interest in partnerships.
  The Bush administration stands alone in refusing to deal with global 
warming. As a former executive, President Bush knows that no business 
plan will succeed without targets and timetables, yet the President's 
negotiators succeeded in blocking targets and timetables to reduce the 
use of oil and gas and increase the use of renewable energy.
  The goal of the summit was to implement a vision for a healthier and 
more sustainable future, but it fell short because the Bush 
administration has no vision beyond short-term gains for the oil and 
gas industry.
  The U.S. risks falling behind our competitors who will develop 
innovative and profitable clean and efficient technologies. For the 
sake of our economy and our health, I urge the administration to 
abandon its idealogical resistance to real action against climate 
change.

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