WWF Says Clinton Admininstration Analysis of Kyoto Climate Change Protocol Ignores Domestic Emission Reductions


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July 31, 1998

WASHINGTON, July 31, 1998 -- WWF expressed disappointment Friday that the Clinton Administration's economic analysis of the Kyoto Protocol fails to envision real emissions cuts at home and relies instead on buying the right to pollute from other countries.

The Clinton Administration's analysis assumes that it will achieve 75% of its emissions reductions through international emissions trading. The analysis does not consider domestic emissions reduction potential at all.

"The Administration's analysis is not even half complete. Who would release economic analysis without calculating what its own country can do to reduce emissions at home?" questioned Adam Markham, director of the WWF Climate Change Campaign. "While the Administration is heading in the right direction showing that action to stop global warming is economically feasible and potentially attractive, it is going down the wrong road in their efforts to solve the problem," Markham said.

A WWF Tellus Institute study entitled, Policies and Measures to reduce CO2 Emissions in the United States, lists steps the U.S. government can take to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly and economically at home for a net economic gain. The policies and programs outlined in the study would guide the economy toward more efficient, lower cost, less polluting and more sustainable energy production and consumption. For example,

  • setting renewable energy content standards, which would require an increasing proportion of renewable resources for electricity and motor fuels
  • establishing pollutant emission caps, which would limit greenhouse gas emissions in the electric power sector through trading systems.
  • progressively strengthening the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to induce automobile manufacturers to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles.

"The results of the Administration analysis are based on faulty assumptions that will be bad for the environment and bad for the U.S. economy," Markham said. "The Administration should not be looking abroad for greenhouse gas emission reductions when there are a myriad of cost-effective, beneficial steps that can be taken immediately to reduce emissions right here at home. This analysis sends the wrong signal to U.S. business. It looks as if the White House has lost its faith in American ingenuity."