Prodi vows Kyoto will go ahead 'with or without US'

Reneging on the Kyoto treaty causes anger, writes ANNE PENKETH.

LONDON - Romano Prodi, the president of the European Commission, has warned George Bush that the European Union intends to go ahead with a landmark agreement on global warming "with or without the United States" because it is the only option available to save the planet.

Prodi's call to arms comes as European leaders are becoming increasingly strident in their criticism of the US President's decision to renege on the Kyoto treaty, aimed at curbing the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, has joined the fray, calling Bush's decision a "serious unilateral act" which did not bode well for Washington's commitment to other global pacts.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer appealed to Washington to reconsider, saying that to walk away from Kyoto would be "a fatal mistake."

Prodi says that an EU delegation, which has just held frustrating talks in Washington after failing to meet the key policy-makers, would be travelling to Russia, Japan and China, other major producers of greenhouse gases. They would also hold talks in Iran, which chairs the developing countries' delegation to the climate talks.

"The message they will carry is this: we in the EU do not see a solution to the climate problem outside the Kyoto Protocol," Prodi said. "The EU remains committed to it - with or without the US."

He demolishes the US arguments for withdrawing from the pact, saying: "If the Bush Administration finds the US targets too ambitious, that is not an argument for discarding the whole agreement.

"Some claim Kyoto is not fair because it excludes developing countries," Prodi says, referring to the US objections that major polluters such as China and India are excluded from the Kyoto pact.

"But surely we in the industrialised world, who have contributed most to causing this problem, should be first to contribute to its solution.

"Is there any fairness in the fact that US emissions are 10 times more per person than those in the developing world?"

One of the nations which risks being submerged by the effects of global warming, the Maldives, joined the chorus of complaints that followed Bush's announcement.

Director of environmental affairs in the Ministry of Environment Mohamed Khaleel said: "It is a matter of life and death for us. We are very disappointed that they have backed out of a commitment they made."

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