113 Nations' Representatives Agree On IPCC Study, But No Rush To Change Things At Home - IHT

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In the days following the release of the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 3 of the world's top 10 emitters of greenhouse gases — China, Germany and the United States — made clear the limits of their sacrifice.

Officials from the United States, the world's No. 1 greenhouse gas producer, congratulated the panel but reiterated the Bush administration's longstanding opposition to any caps on emissions. Qin Dahe, China's top climate official and co-chairman of the climate panel, announced Tuesday that his country had set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 4 percent a year over the next five years. But he added that China — the world's No. 2 emitter — lacked the money and technology for the task compared with more developed nations. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, the seventh largest emitter, said she supported reducing vehicle emissions but rejected imposing speed limits on the autobahns and "one size fits all" mandatory emission limits for cars.

Catherine Pearce, spokeswoman on climate change for Friends of the Earth International, said: "There is always an excuse, it's really disappointing. The message of the report is we know what the problem is, now we need a solution. We need to speed up and have significantly increased commitment. Not more of the same."

Scientists say that a piecemeal approach to cutting emissions will not blunt the Earth's temperature rise and all its devastating ripple effects — from rising sea levels to more frequent and violent storms.

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http://iht.com/articles/2007/02/06/news/climate.php