UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan expressed regret yesterday at President Bush's rejection of the 1997 Kyoto treaty and called for a greater sense of urgency in tackling global warming for the sake of future generations.
"I regret the US decision," Mr Annan said during a visit to Nairobi, Kenya. "But I think it gives us more reason to fight."
The Kyoto protocol calls on industrialised countries to cut carbon dioxide emissions by an average 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. The US is the world's biggest source of such emissions.
Meanwhile, the German environment ministry insisted yesterday that a 2005 target to cut greenhouse gases within the Kyoto accord remained in force and rejected a suggestion it had agreed a longer-term emissions goal.
Economics Minister Mr Werner Muller, a former energy executive brought into the cabinet to improve its business credentials, had told the news magazine Focus that existing emissions targets assumed economic growth of just 1 per cent a year. He said medium-term growth would be at least double that, leading to increased industrial activity and higher emissions.