Developments in U.S. Climate Policy since the Inauguration of George W. Bush

1. Initiatives of the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency under the Bush Administration (until August 2002)

1.1. Introduction

The main initiatives of the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency include:

• The National Energy Plan
• The Clear Skies Initiative and the Global Climate Change Strategy as national alternatives to the Kyoto-Protocol
• The Climate Action Report 2002 in the context of the UNFCCC

The following part of the documentation begins with a letter of President Bush to the Senators Hagel, Helms, Craig and Roberts on March 13^th, 2001 in which President Bush expresses his arguments and opposition to the Kyoto-Protocol. Furthermore, he refers to national initiatives, for example in the energy sector. On May 17^th, 2001 Bush officially proposed the National Energy Plan including the following topics:

• Energy challenges facing the United States
• The impact of high energy prices on families, communities, and business
• Sustaining the Nation's health and environment
• Energy conservation and efficiency
• Use of renewable and alternative energy
• National energy security and international relationships

A few weeks later, on June 11^th, 2001, Bush gave a speech on climate change and proposed the National Climate Change Technology Initiative. Furthermore, the White House published an overview on US climate change activities including a detailed analysis of the US point of view with respect to the Kyoto-Protocol and scientific and technological progress [See http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/06/climatechange.pdf (15/06/2002)]. The FreedomCar Initiative has been announced on January 9^th, 2002 as part of the National Energy Plan. The program emphasizes research and development programs designed to triple automobile efficiency.

The chronological overview includes next the links to the official documents of the US climate change strategy. On February 14^th, 2002, President Bush announced the Clear Skies Initiative and the US Global Climate Change Strategy as national alternatives to the Kyoto-Protocol. The main goal of these strategies is a non-binding reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 18% by 2012.

The Clear Skies Initiative would:

• Cut sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions from power plants by 73 percent, from current emissions of 11 million tons to a cap of 4.5 million tons in 2010, and 3 million tons in 2018.
• Cut emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from power plants by 67 percent, from current emissions of 5 million tons to a cap of 2.1 million tons in 2008, and to 1.7 million tons in 2018.
• Cut mercury emissions from power plants by 69 percent, establishing the first-ever national cap on mercury emissions. Emissions will be cut from current emissions of 48 tons to a cap of 26 tons in 2010, and 15 tons in 2018.
• Set emission caps to account for different air quality needs in the East and the West.

In absolute terms, the emissions of US-greenhouse gases would rise further, since the initiatives are only proposing a relative reduction of its intensity [See e.g. summary of the initiative at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/headline_072902.htm(01/08/2002)]. The proposals also include questions such as tax reduction, CO₂-sequestration and transport issues [See Fay, Kevin (2002): Bush Administration Climate Proposal: A Significant Contribution, in: American Bar Association Network at http://www.abanet.org/environ/committees/climatechange/newsletter/mar02/fay.htm (15/06/2002)]. Environmental organizations were not alone in their severe criticism of these propositions as ineffective and dominated by gas and oil companies. Some US enterprises already announced greenhouse gas reductions which go far beyond the national goals and oppose the view that reductions have to have negative consequences on economic growth and development [See e.g. Umweltjournal, February 14th, 2002 at http://www.umweltjournal.de/fp/archiv/AfA_politik/020214Klimakatastrophe.shtml (16/07/2002)].

The Climate Change Action Report 2002, published by the EPA for the United Nations as part of the UNFCC agreements, covers the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but does not go beyond already existing goals. But for the first time since the Bush Administration came into power, it acknowledges, "human activity - the burning of fossil fuels - was the primary culprit. This was no more than a statement of the obvious for most reputable scientists. But the acknowledgement was a first for the environmentally challenged Bush administration."[Herbert, Bob (2002): Global warming: Bush's head in the sand, in: International Herald Tribune, June 7^th, 2002, p.6. or The New York Times, July 11^th, 2002: Democrats Say Bush Global Warming Plan 'Baloney', see http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-environment-bush.html (12/07/2002)]. Shortly after the report was published, George W. Bush declared that he does not share these views and that the report was a "product of the federal bureaucracy" [Revkin, Andrew (2002): Climate Plan is Criticized as Optimistic, in: The New York Times, February 26^th, 2002]. After this statement, a wide discussion at the national and international level followed. On July 17^th, 11 State Attorney Generals expressed their concerns in a letter to President Bush arguing for a more consistent policy of the White House and its Administration, also in cooperation with the states.

The most recent activity of the EPA in July 2002 includes the control of emissions from spark-ignition marine vessels and highway motorcycles. President Bush is focusing on the implementation of the Clear Skies Initiative: A bill was introduced on July 26^th, 2002 in the House of Representatives from Tauzin and Barton and on July 29^th, in the Senate from Senator Bob Smith.