Bush ‘misled’ US on climate change
Congress panel report comes as US presses Bali climate meeting to drop emission targets. Your Views Climate change will bring positive changes in the world and the fight against pollution will bring optimistic reforms Mohamed Hassan, Somalia Send us your views The report said that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) exerted unusual control over what federal scientists could say publicly about climate change, and that it was standard practice for the council to decide whether or not US scientists could give interviews to the media. Q&A: The Kyoto Protocol Some republicans called it a partisan diatribe against the Bush administration. Texas calls for carbon cuts He said the Democrats grossly exaggerated claims of political interference and ignored the legitimate role of policymakers, instead of scientists, in making administration policy. White Houses CEQ made 294 edits to strategic plan for its climate change science programme in 2003 either to emphasise uncertainties or diminish importance of human role in global warming Media requests for interviews with climate scientists routinely routed through CEQ which often offered scientists with views in line with administration Scientists testimony before congress often heavily edited by political appointees. Some persuaded to play down human influence on climate change and in aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the link between climate change and hurricanes The report was issued as government officials from across the globe were meeting in Bali, Indonesia, to map out a strategy for dealing with climate change after 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol on climate change expires. While acknowledging the reality of global warming, the White House has opposed specific targets to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide spewed by coal-fired power plants and petroleum-fuelled vehicles arguing that this would hurt the US economy. Robert Cluck, the Republican mayor of Arlington, Texas, George Bushs home state, said the US presidents failure to sign the Kyoto Protocol did not mean American cities could not take the lead on cutting emissions in their own backyards. Across the US, more than 700 mayors, representing 75 million Americans, have pledged to meet the standards proscribed by the Kyoto Protocol. Although his call for cutting emissions has not played well with big oil Republicans in Texas, Cluck, also a doctor, maintains that the states greenhouse gas emissions the deadliest levels of carbon dioxide pollution in the US are shameful, inexcusable and embarrassing.