Germany climate change conference

BBC News 6 November, 2004



There is a chance America could change its stance on global warming despite George Bush's re-election, the UK environment secretary has said.

Margaret Beckett said public opinion was bringing change regardless of who had won the presidential election.

Mrs Beckett was speaking at a climate change conference in Germany.

But Myron Ebell, from a Washington based think tank, said US policy would not change and accused the UK's chief scientist of being "alarmist".

The climate change conference at the British embassy in Berlin was opened on Wednesday by the Queen, who has reportedly told Tony Blair of her personal concern on the issue.

Russia's upper house of parliament has now backed the Kyoto Protocol, which means it could come into force next year despite the US refusal to ratify the agreement.

But UK Government chief scientist Sir David King said that if any country could get the G8 group of leading industrialised nations to make progress on global warming, it would be the UK.

But Mr Ebell, the director of global warming at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said he did not think there would be a change, especially as there were also more conservative Republicans in both Houses of Congress.

"The whole tissue of argument that makes climate change into the greatest problem facing humanity is based on a long series of improbabilities," he said.

Mr Ebell said Sir David had no expertise in climate science and was "alarmist" and denied the world was going through an unprecedented period of warming.