    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [December 10, 1997]
    [Pages 1745-1746]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change and an Exchange With
    Reporters in New York City
    December 10, 1997

        The President. I'm sorry about the rain. I'll make this brief, but I
    want to take a moment before I leave to comment on the outcome of the
    climate change negotiations that have just been completed in Japan.
        I am very pleased that the United States has reached a truly
    historic agreement with other nations of the world to take unprecedented
    steps to address the global problem of climate change. The agreement is
    environmentally strong and economically sound. It reflects a commitment
    by our generation to act in the interests of future generations.
        The United States delegation, at the direction of the Vice President
    and with the very, very skilled leadership of Under Secretary of State
    Stu Eizenstat, showed the way. The momentum generated by the Vice
    President's visit helped to move the negotiations, and I thank him very
    much.
        I'm particularly pleased that the agreement strongly reflects the
    commitment of the United States to use the tools of the free market to
    tackle this problem.
        There are still hard challenges ahead, especially in the area of
    involvement by the developing nations. It's essential that they
    participate in a meaningful way if we are to truly tackle this problem.
    But the joint implementation provisions of the agreement open the way to
    that result. The industrialized nations have come together and taken a
    strong step, and that is real progress.
        Finally, I cannot say enough about the extraordinary leadership of
    Prime Minister Hashimoto. The people of Japan should be very proud of
    the spirit and the work that their country's leaders did to make this
    historic day possible.
        Thank you very much.
        Q. [Inaudible]
        The President. No. No. And the agreement we made is actually,
    because of the way the details are worked out and what counts against
    the total, even though we have committed to a 7 percent reduction, it's
    actually closer to our original position than that indicates. We will
    make some reduction. I think we can.

    [[Page 1746]]

        We got what we wanted, which is joint implementation, emissions
    trading, a market-oriented approach. I wish it were a little stronger on
    developing nations' participation. But we opened the way, the only way
    we can get there, through joint implementation of projects in those
    countries.
        This is a very good agreement. It is going to be possible for us to
    do this and grow our economy. It is environmentally sound. It's a huge
    first step. And I did not dream when we started that we could get this
    far. We should be very, very proud of this.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:30 p.m. at John F. Kennedy International
    Airport prior to his departure for Miami, FL. In his remarks, he
    referred to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan. The Kyoto
    Protocol to the Framework Convention on Climate Change was agreed upon
    at the Third Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
    Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Kyoto, Japan,
    December 1-10.