10 Feb 2007 Regarding Jacques Chirac’s Kyoto Tax: A Counterproposal

Jacques Chirac of France has proposed a Kyoto tax, specifically, an import tax against the U.S. and other nations shunning the Kyoto global warming agreement and its successor treaty, the soon-to-be-negotiated Kyoto II: This Time We Mean It (Wink Wink).

Chirac’s Kyoto tax is a tad ironic, as it appears the Kyoto-shunning U.S. is cleaning the European Union’s clock when it comes to carbon emissions.

From Reuters, by way of ABC News (excerpted):

U.S. cuts emissions better than Europe: White HouseWASHINGTON – The White House said on Wednesday the United States had done better at reducing carbon emissions than Europe, where U.S. President George W. Bush’s stance on global warming has been sharply criticized.

The Bush administration has taken steps that “demonstrate real seriousness, not simply giving the speeches, but walking the walk,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said, adding that “We are doing a better job of reducing emissions” than Europe.

“So the idea that … we don’t understand the arguments, or we’re not contemplating or taking seriously the arguments about carbon caps, of course we are,” he said.

While many environmentalists have urged mandatory caps on carbon dioxide emissions, as imposed in Europe, Bush opposes the idea and advocates the development of new technologies to reduce dependence on oil.

“I would point out that … there is a carbon cap system in place in Europe, we are doing a better job of reducing emissions here,” Snow said.

The White House said Snow was referring to figures from the International Energy Agency that from 2000 to 2004, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion grew by 1.7 percent, while in the European Union such emissions grew by 5 percent.

Snow said Bush had acknowledged a link between climate change and human activity and had pursued the “most aggressive program of research and technology ever” on that issue.

The United States has also been providing technology to the developing world, which is not included in the Kyoto Protocol that binds 35 industrial countries to cutting carbon dioxide emissions by at least 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The United States is not bound by Kyoto targets…