[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 28 (Monday, July 16, 2001)]
[Pages 1035-1036]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Climate Change Review Initiatives

July 13, 2001

    Last month I announced the fundamental principles to guide a 
scientifically sound and effective global effort to reduce the buildup 
of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As I said then, my 
administration's climate change policy will be science-based, encourage 
research breakthroughs that lead to technological innovation, and take 
advantage of the power of markets. It will encourage global 
participation and will pursue actions that will help ensure continued 
economic growth and prosperity for our citizens and for citizens 
throughout the world.
    Today I am pleased to report on specific initiatives that have been 
advanced in the past month by my Cabinet-level Climate Change Working 
Group. These initiatives represent important steps in putting our 
principles to work through partnerships with other nations, industry, 
and non-governmental organizations. They are designed to increase our 
scientific understanding of climate change, to tap the enormous promise 
of technology in addressing greenhouse gas emissions, and to promote 
further cooperation on climate change with our partners in the Western 
Hemisphere and beyond.
    To advance the science of climate change, the Secretary of Commerce 
has convened an interagency work group charged with developing a Federal 
research plan that will prove vital to increasing our understanding of 
the dimensions and dynamics of climate change. Prominently, NASA will 
invest over $120 million in the next 3 years in research on the natural 
carbon cycle, climate modeling, and the link between atmospheric 
chemistry and climate to help reduce uncertainties in the science 
highlighted by the recent National Academy of Sciences report requested 
by my Cabinet-level working group.
    To advance technological innovation, the Department of Energy has 
just signed agreements to begin two significant new projects to study 
carbon sequestration. The first agreement is with The Nature 
Conservancy, the world's largest private international conservation 
group, to study land use and forestry practices for storing carbon more 
effectively in Brazil and Belize. The second is with an international 
team of energy companies--BP-Amoco, Shell, Chevron, Texaco, Pan Canadian 
(Canada), Suncor Energy (Canada), ENI (Italy), Statoil Forskningssenter 
(Norway) and Norsk Hydro (Norway)--to develop a new set of technologies 
for reducing the cost of capturing carbon dioxide from fossil fuel 
combustion plants. Grants for six other sequestration research projects 
have also been awarded under this $25 million initiative that leverages 
an additional $50 million from the private sector and foreign 
governments.

[[Page 1036]]

    To further cooperation in the Western Hemisphere and beyond on 
climate change, the Department of Treasury yesterday entered into a $14 
million ``debt for forest'' agreement with the Government of El Salvador 
under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act. By funding tropical forest 
conservation in that country, the agreement will secure important 
benefits of carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
    Fostering further scientific cooperation on climate change among 
nations in our hemisphere, the Department of Commerce is bringing 
together more than 100 scientists from the United States, Mexico, and 
South America to study the regional impacts of climate change, another 
important area of uncertainty highlighted by the National Academy of 
Sciences study.
    My Environmental Protection Agency Administrator also met with the 
Canadian and Mexican environment ministers on June 29 and pledged to 
jointly consider ``market-based approaches for carbon sequestration, 
energy efficiency, and renewable energy in North America.'' Today the 
United States will host a meeting with the Japanese environment minister 
at which they will focus on opportunities for bilateral cooperation on 
climate change, including enhanced, joint climate modeling research.
    Finally, in keeping with my commitment to engage internationally, 
the United States has participated and will continue to participate 
constructively in international discussions on climate change, including 
in the upcoming Sixth Conference of the Parties to the Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (COP-6) that begins this Monday in Bonn, 
Germany.
    These initiatives illustrate the efforts my administration will 
continue to encourage strongly. These partnerships leverage resources to 
achieve tangible results. In many cases, their scope is international, 
reflecting the fact that both the problem and solutions for climate 
change extend beyond the borders of any one nation. And they represent 
the kind of investments in scientific and technological knowledge on 
which real progress on this long-term challenge must be based. I am 
pleased that those who are signing agreements with us or who have 
otherwise pledged to pursue joint research with our Government share our 
vision of enhancing our knowledge and making progress on this important 
issue.