European Union officials told their counterparts in Washington that the EU intended to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global warming before 2002 despite the US decision to withdraw from the pact, the European Commission said yesterday.
"One country cannot declare dead an international process that deals with a major global issue," the Commission's environment spokeswoman, Ms Margot Wallstrom, said in a statement.
During a meeting in Washington last Tuesday, the Americans told an EU "troika" there was no chance they would ratify the protocol, Ms Wallstrom said. But she said the Americans indicated they planned to attend an international conference in Bonn in July at which participants are to discuss reductions in greenhouse gases as part of the Kyoto pact.
"In all countries, climate change will be on top of the political agenda for a long time to come," said Ms Wallstrom, a member of the troika, which is headed by the Swedish Environment Minister, Mr Kjell Larsson, and also includes a representative of Belgium, which takes over the EU Presidency from Sweden in July. "By choosing not to be part of the process, the United States will miss this opportunity," she said.
The White House acknowledged last month that President Bush had effectively abandoned the treaty, saying it put an unfair burden on the US economy.
Ms Wallstrom said the EU intended to continue its efforts toward implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, which would have to be ratified by 55 countries, even if Washington remained opposed to it.
"Combating climate change is not only about cost, it provides an opportunity for new technology and for modernising our economies," she said.
The EU officials continued their mission yesterday in Canada, where they met the Canadian Environment Minister, Mr David Anderson. The officials are to visit Russia, Iran, China and Japan from April 6th to 11th to further sound out feelings on Washington's pull-out from the protocol.
The President of the European Commission, Mr Romano Prodi, has described as "worrying" President Bush's stance on the Kyoto treaty, Declan Fahy reports.
"Our concern has been expressed in a joint letter from [the Swedish] Prime Minister, Mr Goran Persson, and myself to Mr Bush", Mr Prodi told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He said Europe must take the lead in "this very important field".