China called it «irresponsible, » Europeans said there would be «political implications» and environmentalists said the world faced a «climate disaster.»<\/b>
\nChina called it \u201cirresponsible, \u201d Europeans said there would be \u201cpolitical implications\u201d and environmentalists said the world faced a \u201cclimate disaster\u201d and \u201cthe world would pay the price in tears\u201d for the president\u2019s decision.
Sounds a lot like the reaction to President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to exit the Paris climate accord, but these were actually statements made by critics of former President George W. Bush\u2019s rejection of the Kyoto Protocol.
About 16 years ago, Bush announced that he would continue opposing the Kyoto Protocol, the world\u2019s first binding global warming treaty, largely on the grounds that it would hurt the U. S. economy and allow China and India to continue emitting greenhouse gases.
\u201dThe world\u2019s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases is China, \u201d Bush said in June 2001. \u201dYet China was entirely exempted from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. India and Germany are among the top emitters. Yet India was also exempt from Kyoto.\u201d
Bush also said the Kyoto Protocol would \u201dhave a negative economic impact, with layoffs of workers and price increases for consumers, \u201d the New York Times reported at the time.
Outrage ensued. China\u2019s foreign minister said Bush\u2019s decision was \u201cirresponsible.\u201d China joined the Kyoto Protocol as a developing country, meaning they were not committed to reduce emissions. Neither did India.
European leaders criticized Bush and urged him to do more to fight global warming. Europeans also reaffirmed their commitment to following the Kyoto Protocol without the U. S., even though they admitted it would be less effective.
\u201cIt is important that the US accepts its responsibility for the world climate. They are the biggest economy in the world and the heaviest energy consumers, \u201d European Union Commissioner Margaret Schr\u00f6der told the Los Angeles Times in 2001.
Environmentalists were probably the most outraged. When Bush announced his intention to rebuke the Kyoto Protocol, which was voted down by the Senate, activists claimed that \u201cthe world would pay the price in tears.\u201d
\u201cMillions of people \u2014 in the US as well as in other countries \u2014 face the loss of their homes, their jobs and even their lives because of climate change, \u201d said Charles Secrett, director of the U. K. branch of Friends of the Earth.
\u201cBut this ignorant, short-sighted and selfish politician, long since firmly jammed into the pockets of the oil lobby, clearly couldn\u2019 t care less, \u201d Secrett said in a statement.
Fast forward 16 years, and it\u2019s clear that a similar story is transpiring.
Trump announced Thursday that he would withdraw the U. S. from the Paris climate accord, largely along the same lines that Bush laid out in 2001.
The Paris accord, Trump said, would impose economically harmful cuts on U. S. industries while letting China and India continue to emit more.
The outrage against Trump\u2019s decision was just as loud, if not louder. China and European leaders, who had spent months urging Trump to stay in the deal, pledged to strengthen their commitment to the Paris Agreement.
\u201cThe EU and China are joining forces to forge ahead on the implementation of the Paris agreement and accelerate the global transition to clean energy, \u201d EU Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Ca\u00f1ete told the Guardian.
Separately, China called Trump\u2019s decision a \u201c global setback, \u201d and environmentalists railed against the administration.
\u201cBy denying climate change and failing to act, Trump has put us on a path beset with increased famine, poverty, disease and death for millions of people in the U. S. and across the globe, \u201d Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, said in a statement.
It should also be noted the Kyoto Protocol did little to stop the inexorable rise of carbon dioxide emissions, mostly because of China and India.
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