USA

With less than five percent of the world’s population, the United States is responsible for about 25 percent of total global warming pollution. Despite this fact, in 2001 President George W. Bush withdrew the U.S. from the Kyoto process, claiming that the Protocol was unfair to industrialized countries and would hurt the U.S. economy.

Although many industrialized countries are reducing emissions while growing their economies, proving Bush’s assertions are not warranted, his administration has continued to oppose Kyoto and any sort of mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions. As President Bush continues to deny the science of climate change and confuse the U.S. public about its solutions, it seems clear that the President’s decision to withdraw from Kyoto was based largely on his administration’s relationship with the fossil fuel industry rather than on any scientific or economic fact.

Thankfully, Americans are not waiting for the Bush administration to take action and are coming up with creative solutions to reduce global warming pollution throughout the country. From regional cap and trade commitments to increasing renewable energy standards, many states are now participating in a sweeping trend to reduce carbon emissions and increase renewable energy. And Washington is hearing the message – this year an unprecedented number of bills were introduced in the U.S. Congress that focus on climate change. Even the U.S. Supreme Court is planning to hear a case about whether CO2 should be regulated as a pollutant.

For more information on state and local action in the U.S. read USCAN’s report “Turning the Tide” http://www.usclimatenetwork.org/international-leadership/turningtidehome

Australia

Australia has the highest emissions per capita of any developed country in the world, and is the 17^th largest total greenhouse polluter, even with only 20 million citizens. (link to Pew Centre report, Climate Data: Insights and Observations, December 2004 http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/Climate%20Data%20new%2Epdf)

Australia was involved in negotiating the Kyoto Protocol, and was one of the first countries to sign (a precursor to ratifying) in 1997.

Australia negotiated for itself the second most generous target under the Kyoto Protocol – agreeing to limit increases in greenhouse emissions by 8% (compared to an overall 5% decrease).

Prime Minister John Howard, said that Australia joining Kyoto would make a “massive contribution to the world environmental effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions but also to protect Australian jobs”, and that Kyoto represented a “win for the environment and a win for Australian jobs”.

After the US walked away from ratifying Kyoto, the Australian Government changed its policy and refused to ratify.

In 2001 Prime Minister John Howard said: "It [the Kyoto Protocol] will cost jobs — it will cost the jobs of unionist and non-unionists alike — and it will do very great damage to the resource sector of Australia, which is not in the national interests of this country."

Yet in 2003 Mr Howard said "Australia is on track to achieve its target of limited greenhouse emissions to 108% of 1990 emissions over the period 2008-2012, as agreed to at Kyoto."

So, if we're meeting our targets, in a booming economy with record low unemployment, how can ratifying Kyoto be bad for the economy and bad for jobs?

The Australian Greenhouse Office, projected that Australia's climate change pollution from energy generation (our biggest source of climate change pollution) will increase to 146% of 1990 levels, and industrial greenhouse emissions to 153% by 2012. This increase in climate change pollution highlights that Australia is not taking action on the true causes of climate change.

For information on Australia’s performance relative to Kyoto targets see “Tracking to the Kyoto Target 2005” (link to: http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/projections/pubs/tracking2005.pdf)