US commitment on greenhouse gases

The United States took a surprisingly strong position on cutting greenhouse gas emissions this summer at the Second Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP2) in Geneva. On 17 July, Undersecretary of State Timothy Wirth announced that the U.S. will seek an amendment to the existing treaty to create “binding” emissions targets. Specifics on such an amendment, including emission targets and time-frame, have not yet been developed, but in comments following the speech reported in 26 July issue of

Global Environmental Change Report he said that “very early target dates are not possible."