BUSH UNDER FIRE

In 1992 at Rio, then President of the US George H.W. Bush rejected treaties to protect biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

In 2002 his son President George W Bush not only decided not to go to Johannesburg  but the US delegation blocked proposals for the ratification of the Kyoto protocol on climate change. 

Why?

"An estimated 5,000 pro-business lobbyists led by US interests chorused the message that the status quo is adequate. A leaked letter to President George Bush, signed by 31 groups including Republican party lobbyists, some of them linked to oil giant Exxon Mobil, warns that such issues could prove destructive to domestic interests. Bush does not want new global agreements." - Mark Townsend

" It was Bush who decided not to come to Johannesburg, signalling that the issues being discussed here - from basic sanitation to clean energy - are low priorities for his administration. And the US delegation has blocked all proposals that involve either directly regulating multinational corporations or dedicating significant new funds to sustainable development, environmentalists, indigenous groups and lobby groups, as well as multinational corporations." - Naomi Klein

What else?

At Johannesburg the US also opposed the European target for generating energy from renewable sources such as the sun, sea and wind - insisting that nuclear, and fossil fuels, were the answer. 

According to UN figures, U.S. consumption of energy has jumped 21 percent and greenhouse gas emissions 13 percent in the la.st 10 years.