A delegation from the European Union is visiting Washington next week to see if it can change Bush's mind. Frankly, we are getting a little tired of being preached to by countries who haven't ratified the 1997 treaty either and who are just as concerned about economic growth as we are, as shown by the rush of some to cut fuel taxes the minute truckers protested price increases. There is no question that carbon dioxide, a gas produced by the combustion of fossil fuels, traps heat and warms the earth. How much, how fast and to what effect is nowhere nearly as certain as the doomsters claim. In November the Kyoto countries failed to agree on implementation provisions, largely because of European obstinacy.
Carbon dioxide is mixed quickly throughout the atmosphere.
It does not matter where a ton less is emitted, or whether a ton is removed from the atmosphere. A growing forest removes a lot of carbon dioxide. Yet in November Europe torpedoed all attempts to agree on how participating countries could pay for emissions reductions in other countries, or grow forests in other countries. Europe insisted on requiring the bulk of compliance within the borders of each participating country. In other words, it insists that compliance be difficult.