Britain has attacked President George Bush's administration for failing to
take action on global warming, as part of an intensifying drive to get the
United States to treat the issue seriously.
Professor Sir David King, Tony Blair's chief scientific adviser, took the
opportunity of a speech on Friday at the American Association for the
Advancement of Science to brand the President's position as indefensible.
Arriving straight from talks with senior officials in Washington, he pointedly
reminded the US that it has signed up for the Kyoto protocol on combating global
warming, which the President has been trying to kill.
And he added: "Climate change is real. Millions will increasingly be exposed to
hunger, drought, flooding and debilitating diseases such as malaria. Inaction
due to questions over the science is no longer defensible."
Sir David's speech is the latest shot in a campaign that opened last month when
he published an article in the US magazine Science, saying that the Bush
administration "is failing to take up the challenge of global warming" even
though the US accounts for 20 per cent of the pollution that causes it.
He is speaking with the backing of the Prime Minister, who has decided that
trying to make progress on tackling climate change should be a key priority when
Britain both chairs the G8 group of the world's richest countries and holds the
presidency of the European Union next year.
His close adviser, Peter Mandelson MP, said last week that Mr Blair regarded
climate change as a threat second only to terrorism and weapons of mass
destruction.
Downing Street sees differences on global warming as an opportunity to
demonstrate that Mr Blair is not Mr Bush's "poodle". However, senior officials
are worried that he will nevertheless fight shy of a direct personal
confrontation with the President on the issue.