US: Americans overwhelmingly support the US joining other members of the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, according to an opinion survey.
The poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (Pipa), the Washington-based research group, found that 94 per cent of respondents said the US should make efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions, in line with other developed nations. Three-quarters of respondents said that global warming was a problem that should be addressed by world governments.
The Pipa study found that 73 per cent felt the US should "participate" in Kyoto. President George Bush said on Monday that the US would not agree to any G8 statement that was similar to the Kyoto protocol. "The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy," he said.
The study also showed that 56 per cent of respondents would be willing to incur significant economic costs to address climate change, if there was agreement in the scientific community on global warming.
The survey also found that 70 per cent supported requiring cars to use high fuel efficiency technology, such as hybrid-electric power. The poll did not ask about the politically unpopular idea of a tax on petrol. - (Financial Times Service)