Email this to a friend. The United States shouldn't bend to pressure from the European Union and developing countries to agree to new emissions limits, Sen. Robert Byrd told President Bill Clinton in a recent letter. Byrd wrote to Clinton last Thursday after the conclusion of climate change negotiations at The Hague, in the Netherlands, which stem from an international treaty reached three years ago in Kyoto, Japan. More than 150 countries are participating in the meetings, which seek to spell out how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced to below 1990 levels. The United States has pushed for the use of trade-off mechanisms that would allow countries to fulfill treaty commitments without a sharp reduction in actual greenhouse gas outputs.
Carbon sinks are areas such as forests and farmland that absorb carbon dioxide.
In his letter, Byrd urged the use of carbon sinks, saying providing credits for them could protect forests and avoid deforestation, especially in developing countries. Farmers and forest managers could benefit from a new economically promising and environmentally sound opportunity, he said. Byrd said he is concerned about the economic impact of the climate change treaty, and the Senate several years ago passed a resolution stating that a treaty should not cause harm to the American economy. But if the United States is to work toward reducing emissions, other polluting countries also must engage in the same effort, Byrd said.