A call for climate action.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Sooner or later, President Bush is going to have listen to someone other than political adviser Karl Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney on the most urgent environmental issue of our time - global warming.

With 3 1/2 years left in office, there's still time for Bush to reverse his approach of denial and delay and to take meaningful action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Last week, he met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has made climate change a top priority for next month's G-8 summit. It was a prime opportunity for the two allies to agree on the need for a fresh global strategy to contain and roll back global warming.

Instead, the president appeared indifferent to Blair's initiative, insisting that his administration already was taking the necessary steps to address climate change.

"See," Bush said, `there's a lot of things we're doing in America, and I believe that not only can we solve our greenhouse gas (problem), I believe we will.'

The president's flaccid plan falls dismally short of meeting that goal. Bush so far seems content to ask industry for voluntary reductions in emissions and to insist, despite mountains of evidence, that scientists haven't proven that man-made pollutants are causing temperatures to rise.

Before going to the G-8 summit, Bush should read a statement issued last Tuesday by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Britain's Royal Society and similar groups from nine other nations. It calls on the United States and the rest of the wealthy nations that make up the G-8 to act swiftly on climate change and warns that delays will dramatically increase the inevitable costs.

While addressed to all G-8 members, the statement is directed chiefly at the United States, which is responsible for one-fourth of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. For perspective, consider that the 13 percent increase in U.S. greenhouse emissions from 1990 to 2002 exceeds the overall reduction that will result if every nation participating in the Kyoto Protocol meets its target.

The scientists dismissed Bush's claim that evidence of global warming remains inconclusive, citing "direct measurements of rising surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures, and from phenomena such as increases in average global sea levels, retreating glaciers and changes to many physical and biological systems."

Bush also should reflect on the growing chorus of U.S. manufacturers, utilities and investors calling for clear federal standards on greenhouse emissions. Companies ranging from Cinergy Corp. to General Electric - the same businesses that Bush insists would be damaged by emissions limits - are now imploring the government to impose uniform national regulations.

Such requests may seem odd at first glance, but they make a lot of sense. Major U.S. businesses understand that federal action is inevitable and would rather begin crafting long-term strategies now than under a future presidential administration. They also believe that a national policy is preferable to the emerging patchwork of state regulations, and they fear losing ground to foreign companies that are already developing the new technologies needed to reduce emissions.

While most other nations have recognized that carbon dioxide emissions are making the planet warmer, President Bush continues to cling to the notion of "considerable uncertainty about the effect of natural fluctuations on climate." It's still not too late for Bush to exhibit the courage, vision and boldness necessary to change this country's course on global warming and, while he's at it, to help change the world.