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Transatlantic Summitry and the Cult of Global Warming
American Thinker ^
| April 30, 2007
| Soeren Kern
Posted on 05/01/2007 3:28:27 PM PDT by neverdem
It's time for another transatlantic summit, and this one, set for Washington on April 30, will have a lot in common with previous EU-US bilaterals: It will be rather short on substance. Indeed, transatlantic summits rarely meet their potential, largely because Europe and the United States are a house divided, unable (or unwilling) to agree on how to respond to the most pressing problems of the age.
European negotiators, for their part, have proffered an image of collective unity by presenting their American interlocutors with a long list of us-versus-them demands: American acceptance of a transatlantic market ‘without barriers'; American agreement to lift visa restrictions on all EU citizens; American concessions on a deal to share airline passenger data; and, of course, American acquiescence to rigid caps on greenhouse gas emissions.
But Americans know that the 27 nations that comprise the European Union are not at all of one mind on most issues. Indeed, US President George W Bush is likely to ask his guests, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, representing the current six-month EU presidency, and European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso, to keep it real.
And the reality is that the White House won't be signing on to any major Brusselian crusade against global warming until Europeans get serious about confronting global terrorism; Bush knows that if Europe and the United States cannot work together to contain Islamic extremism, global warming will, for all intents and purposes, be beside the point.
The problem, however, is that on the greatest threat faced by both sides of the Atlantic, namely the challenge posed by Islamic extremism, Europeans remain conspicuously unhelpful. Indeed, if anything exemplifies the idea of European unity, it is their collective refusal to acknowledge and defend against threats to their own way of life.
The Kyoto Gospel on Global Warming
Europeans, meanwhile, will want to divert attention away from their post-modern equivocation vis-à-vis the pre-modern Islamists who are trying to take over their continent. As post-Christian converts to the cult of global warming, expect them instead to claim the moral high ground by blaming the United States for its continued doubts about the usefulness of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change.
In fact, many analysts suspect that in practice Europe has not achieved any overall reductions in emissions. Indeed, according to the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, from 2000-2004-the most recent period for which comparative data are available-collective greenhouse gas emissions in the EU-25 increased by 2.1 percent, compared with 1.3% in the United States. And in Spain, for example, greenhouse gas emissions have actually increased by 40% since 1990.
And what is the anticipated cost of complying with Kyoto? According to the best estimates available, those compiled by
William Nordhaus and Joseph Boyer of Yale University, the United States could expect to pay a staggering $325 billion, enough to convince many Americans that the benefits of the agreement do not justify its costs. By comparison, the cost to the rest of the world combined would be less than $400 billion, because the United States would bear most of the aggregate costs. Americans can be excused for doubting Kyoto's basic fairness.
Transatlantic Trade Relations Are Vibrant
And as a major step toward unlocking even more economic potential, the Washington Summit will mark the signing of a new transatlantic economic treaty that will remove barriers to free trade in a number of strategically important sectors, a move economists say could pump billions of dollars into the transatlantic economy. The two sides will also sign a deal known as ‘Open Skies' that will open up restricted transatlantic routes to new rivals and could generate some $15 billion in economic benefits.
Unfortunately for Merkel, the road to TAFTA leads through Afghanistan and Iraq. Indeed, the quid pro quo for American support for TAFTA involves a significantly increased European commitment to transatlantic defense. And that's a price Europeans are unable or unwilling to pay.
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; globalwarming; iraq; trade
1
posted on
05/01/2007 3:28:33 PM PDT
by
neverdem
To: OKSooner; honolulugal; Killing Time; Beowulf; Mr. Peabody; RW_Whacko; gruffwolf; BlessedBeGod; ...
Click on POGW graphic for full GW rundown
New!!: Dr. John Ray's
GREENIE WATCH
Ping me if you find one I've missed.
A good read
2
posted on
05/01/2007 5:19:50 PM PDT
by
xcamel
(Press to Test, Release to Detonate)
To: neverdem; redhead
3
posted on
05/01/2007 7:33:33 PM PDT
by
intenseracer
(US military: Puttin warheads on foreheads)
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