[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 24 (Monday, June 18, 2001)]
[Pages 876-879]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Global Climate Change

June 11, 2001

    Good morning. I've just met with senior members of my administration 
who are working to develop an effective and science-based approach to 
addressing the important issues of global climate change.
    This is an issue that I know is very important to the nations of 
Europe, which I will be visiting for the first time as President. The 
Earth's well-being is also an issue important to America, and it's an 
issue that should be important to every nation in every part of our 
world.
    The issue of climate change respects no border. Its effects cannot 
be reined in by an army nor advanced by any ideology. Climate change, 
with its potential to impact every corner of the world, is an issue that 
must be addressed by the world.
    The Kyoto Protocol was fatally flawed in fundamental ways. But the 
process used to bring nations together to discuss our joint response to 
climate change is an important one. That is why I am today committing 
the United States of America to work within the United Nations framework 
and elsewhere to develop with our friends and allies and nations 
throughout the world an effective and science-based response to the 
issue of global warming.
    My Cabinet-level working group has met regularly for the last 10 
weeks to review the most recent, most accurate, and most comprehensive 
science. They have heard from scientists offering a wide spectrum of 
views. They have reviewed the facts, and they have listened to many 
theories and suppositions. The working group asked the highly respected 
National Academy of Sciences to provide us the most up-to-date 
information about what is known and about what is not known on the 
science of climate change.
    First, we know the surface temperature of the Earth is warming. It 
has risen by .6 degrees Celsius over the past 100 years. There was a 
warming trend from the 1890s to the 1940s, cooling from the 1940s to the 
1970s, and then sharply rising temperatures from the 1970s to today.
    There is a natural greenhouse effect that contributes to warming. 
Greenhouse gases

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trap heat and thus warm the Earth because they prevent a significant 
proportion of infrared radiation from escaping into space. Concentration 
of greenhouse gases, especially CO<INF>2</INF>, have increased 
substantially since the beginning of the industrial revolution. And the 
National Academy of Sciences indicates that the increase is due in large 
part to human activity.
    Yet, the Academy's report tells us that we do not know how much 
effect natural fluctuations in climate may have had on warming. We do 
not know how much our climate could or will change in the future. We do 
not know how fast change will occur or even how some of our actions 
could impact it. For example, our useful efforts to reduce sulfur 
emissions may have actually increased warming, because sulfate particles 
reflect sunlight, bouncing it back into space. And finally, no one can 
say with any certainty what constitutes a dangerous level of warming 
and, therefore, what level must be avoided.
    The policy challenge is to act in a serious and sensible way, given 
the limits of our knowledge. While scientific uncertainties remain, we 
can begin now to address the factors that contribute to climate change.
    There are only two ways to stabilize concentration of greenhouse 
gases: One is to avoid emitting them in the first place; the other is to 
try to capture them after they're created. And there are problems with 
both approaches. We're making great progress through technology but have 
not yet developed cost-effective ways to capture carbon emissions at 
their source, although there is some promising work that is being done.
    And a growing population requires more energy to heat and cool our 
homes, more gas to drive our cars. Even though we're making progress on 
conservation and energy efficiency and have significantly reduced the 
amount of carbon emissions per unit of GDP, our country, the United 
States, is the world's largest emitter of manmade greenhouse gases. We 
account for almost 20 percent of the world's manmade greenhouse 
emissions. We also account for about one-quarter of the world's economic 
output. We recognize the responsibility to reduce our emissions. We also 
recognize the other part of the story, that the rest of the world emits 
80 percent of all greenhouse gases, and many of those emissions come 
from developing countries.
    This is a challenge that requires a 100 percent effort, ours and the 
rest of the world's. The world's second largest emitter of greenhouse 
gases is China. Yet, China was entirely exempted from the requirements 
of the Kyoto Protocol. India and Germany are among the top emitters. 
Yet, India was also exempt from Kyoto. These and other developing 
countries that are experiencing rapid growth face challenges in reducing 
their emissions without harming their economies. We want to work 
cooperatively with these countries in their efforts to reduce greenhouse 
emissions and maintain economic growth.
    Kyoto also failed to address two major pollutants that have an 
impact on warming: black soot and tropospheric ozone. Both are proven 
health hazards. Reducing both would not only address climate change but 
also dramatically improve people's health.
    Kyoto is, in many ways, unrealistic. Many countries cannot meet 
their Kyoto targets. The targets themselves were arbitrary and not based 
upon science. For America, complying with those mandates would have a 
negative economic impact, with layoffs of workers and price increases 
for consumers. And when you evaluate all these flaws, most reasonable 
people will understand that it's not sound public policy. That's why 95 
Members of the United States Senate expressed a reluctance to endorse 
such an approach.
    Yet, America's unwillingness to embrace a flawed treaty should not 
be read by our friends and allies as any abdication of responsibility. 
To the contrary, my administration is committed to a leadership role on 
the issue of climate change. We recognize our responsibility and will 
meet it--at home, in our hemisphere, and in the world.
    My Cabinet-level working group on climate change is recommending a 
number of initial steps and will continue to work on additional ideas. 
The working group proposes the United States help lead the way by 
advancing the science on climate change, advancing the technology to 
monitor and reduce greenhouse gases, and creating partnerships within 
our hemisphere and beyond to monitor and measure and mitigate emissions.

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    I also call on Congress to work with my administration to achieve 
the significant emission reductions made possible by implementing the 
clean energy technologies proposed in our energy plan. Our working group 
study has made it clear that we need to know a lot more.
    The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change commences to 
stabilizing concentrations at a level that will prevent dangerous human 
interference with the climate, but no one knows what that level is. The 
United States has spent $18 billion on climate research since 1990, 3 
times as much as any other country and more than Japan and all 15 
nations of the EU combined.
    Today I make our investment in science even greater. My 
administration will establish the U.S. Climate Change Research 
Initiative to study areas of uncertainty and identify priority areas 
where investments can make a difference. I'm directing my Secretary of 
Commerce, working with other agencies, to set priorities for additional 
investments in climate change research, review such investments, and to 
improve coordination amongst Federal agencies. We will fully fund high-
priority areas for climate change science over the next 5 years. We'll 
also provide resources to build climate observation systems in 
developing countries and encourage other developed nations to match our 
American commitment. And we propose a joint venture with the EU, Japan, 
and others to develop state-of-the-art climate modeling that will help 
us better understand the causes and impacts of climate change.
    America's the leader in technology and innovation. We all believe 
technology offers great promise to significantly reduce emissions, 
especially carbon capture, storage, and sequestration technologies. So 
we're creating the National Climate Change Technology Initiative to 
strengthen research at universities and national labs, to enhance 
partnerships in applied research, to develop improved technology for 
measuring and monitoring gross and net greenhouse gas emissions, and to 
fund demonstration projects for cutting-edge technologies, such as 
bioreactors and fuel cells.
    Even with the best science, even with the best technology, we all 
know the United States cannot solve this global problem alone. We're 
building partnerships within the Western Hemisphere and with other like-
minded countries. Last week Secretary Powell signed a new CONCAUSA 
Declaration with the countries of Central America, calling for 
cooperative efforts on science research, monitoring and measuring of 
emissions, technology development, and investment in forest 
conservation. We will work with the Inter-American Institute for Global 
Change Research and other institutions to better understand regional 
impacts of climate change. We will establish a partnership to monitor 
and mitigate emissions. And at home, I call on Congress to work with my 
administration on the initiatives to enhance conservation and energy 
efficiency outlined in my energy plan, to implement the increased use of 
renewables, natural gas, and hydropower that are outlined in the plan, 
and to increase the generation of safe and clean nuclear power.
    By increasing conservation and energy efficiency and aggressively 
using these clean energy technologies, we can reduce our greenhouse gas 
emissions by significant amounts in the coming years. We can make great 
progress in reducing emissions, and we will. Yet, even that isn't 
enough.
    I've asked my advisers to consider approaches to reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions, including those that tap the power of markets, help 
realize the promise of technology, and ensure the widest possible global 
participation. As we analyze the possibilities, we will be guided by 
several basic principles. Our approach must be consistent with the long-
term goal of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the 
atmosphere. Our actions should be measured as we learn more from science 
and build on it. Our approach must be flexible to adjust to new 
information and take advantage of new technology. We must always act to 
ensure continued economic growth and prosperity for our citizens and for 
citizens throughout the world. We should pursue market-based incentives 
and spur technological innovation. And finally, our approach must be 
based on global participation, including that of developing countries 
whose net greenhouse gas emissions now exceed those in the developed 
countries.

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I've asked Secretary Powell and Administrator Whitman to ensure they 
actively work with friends and allies to explore common approaches to 
climate change consistent with these principles.
    Each step we take will increase our knowledge. We will act, learn, 
and act again, adjusting our approaches as science advances and 
technology evolves. Our administration will be creative. We're committed 
to protecting our environment and improving our economy, to acting at 
home and working in concert with the world. This is an administration 
that will make commitments we can keep and keep the commitments that we 
make.
    I look forward to continued discussions with our friends and allies 
about this important issue.
    Thank you for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 11:10 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate 
Change.