Environment

Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Bush at the G8 Summit in Germany. (© AP Images) G8 Countries Agree on Process To Address Global Warming Will seek to establish long-term plan by 2010 to replace Kyoto Protocol Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) countries have agreed on an accelerated process that eventually can lead to “substantial” cuts in emissions that contribute to global warming. “We are … committed to taking strong and early action to tackle climate change,” they said in a June 7 declaration issued in Heiligendamm, Germany. Calling climate change an “urgent challenge,” the leaders called on the countries that are heavy users of energy and emitters of greenhouse gases to establish by the end of 2008 a new global framework for dealing with emissions of these gases. Such a framework would serve as a basis for reaching, by the end of 2009, a broader global agreement under the auspices of the United Nations that would replace the Kyoto Protocol once it expires in 2012. (more)

Related Links A New International Climate Change Framework June 21 - Deputy Assistant Secretary Harnish; Remarks at the 20th ASEAN – U.S. Dialogue U.S. State Department: Global Climate Change President's Trip to Europe and G8 Summit in Germany USINFO G8 Headlines G8 Countries Building Consensus on Addressing Climate Change

Climate Change and Clean Energy

There is growing awareness and concern in the United States about variations in global climate and the recent rise in average surface temperatures, also known as global warming. These changes reflect both natural processes and the impact of human activity. The U.S. government believes they are serious, long-term challenges that require a policy devoted to emissions reductions and clean, sustainable energy development. The United States is meeting these challenges with comprehensive, science-based strategies that promote innovative technological breakthroughs, harness the power of markets, and encourage global participation and international collaboration. (more)

A tourist whale watching boat looks at a minke whale, at left, off the coast of Reykjavik, Iceland. (© AP Images).

U.S., 24 Other Countries, Commission Protest Iceland's Whaling
 
Iceland conducting hunt for minke, endangered fin whales without oversight

The United States, 24 other countries and the European Commission have delivered a protest to Iceland's government urging it to halt its ongoing whaling operations and reconsider its decision to start commercial whaling.

The diplomatic protest, formally known as a demarche, was signed by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, together with the European Commission.

"The fact that 25 countries and the European Commission created such a strongly worded protest demonstrates the breadth of opposition to Icelandic commercial whaling," Bill Hogarth, U.S. commissioner to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and director of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service, said November 3. (more)

U.S.- New Zealand Climate Change Partnership

Joint Statement by New Zealand and the United States following the Fourth Meeting under the U.S./New Zealand Bilateral Climate Change Partnership.

Officials from the United States and New Zealand met August 29-30, 2006, in Washington , DC , to review progress and discuss future directions under the United States – New Zealand Climate Change Partnership. This fourth meeting of the Partnership focused on progress and achievement to date of joint activities, continuing support of ongoing projects, and substantive exchanges on domestic approaches to addressing climate change in the agriculture, forestry, and energy sectors, and international climate change science, development, and policy issues.

New proposals relating to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and geological carbon sequestration were discussed. Two new projects, one on using LIDAR (LIght Detection and Ranging) for carbon-biomass inventories and prediction and the other on modelling the impacts of land use change on climate processes, were proposed. The meeting also celebrated the successful conclusion of a hydrogen fuel cell feasibility study, the 6 th project completed under the Partnership. (more)

Our Changing Planet

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program for Fiscal Year 2006.

A Report by the Climate Change Science Program and The Subcommittee on Global Change Research: A supplement to the President's Fiscal Year 2006 Budget (more)

Climate Change Partnership Pursues Multiple Goals

The U.S. led Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate is plotting a course to achieve its goals to attain energy security and accelerate the deployment of clean energy and technology in ways that promote economic development and reduce poverty. Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky tells reporters that a two-day meeting under way at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, will result in concrete steps. (more)