Clinton Signs Kyoto Protocol
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A British consulting firm says the Kyoto targets are The agreement, which calls for sharp reductions in heat-trapping greenhouse gases by the U.S. and 37 other industrial nations, was signed at the United Nations in New York by Peter Burleigh, acting U.S. ambassador. Signing the accord is largely symbolic since it must still be ratified by the Senate, something that is not likely anytime soon.
"Proponents of this treaty have failed to make their case and the treaty deserves to be rejected," Mr. McCormick said. "The need for the agreement is still widely disputed and the proposed solutions will hurt American industries. The trucking industry is among them. Diesel fuel prices could jump an estimated 68 cents a gallon by 2010. Ultimately, the average American will lose, because increased transportation costs will have to be passed onto the consumer in the form of higher prices for food, clothing, medicine, and household goods."
The American Automobile Manufacturers Association shared the trucking industry's concern that signing the pact was a mistake, saying that important elements of the protocol were still unresolved.
"Important elements of the Protocol, such as the flexibility mechanisms, are still being negotiated, and these negotiations are likely to continue for some time," the AAMA said in a press release. "We believe that the Protocol should not have been signed until these elements were successfully completed. Signing an incomplete Protocol will not advance the position of the U.S. in those negotiations in any meaningful way and, in fact, will compromise that position."
TT Staff contributed to this report
