Here comes Kyoto! By Henry Lamb web posted November 15, 2004
Delegates to the 10th anniversary meeting of the Climate Change
Treaty in Buenos Aires are giddy in anticipation of the Kyoto
Protocol entering into force early next year. The meeting, which
is scheduled for December 6-17, is the first meeting since
Russia decided to ratify the agreement. What does this mean for
the United States? No one really knows, but whatever it means,
it is not likely to be good. The international community was
extremely disgusted with President Bush when he withdrew the
U.S. from participation in 2001. They were even more disgusted
when 59.4 million "dumb" Americans chose to re-elect the
president. Now, with the Protocol entering into force, it could
well become the instrument through which the international
community seeks revenge. A primary, behind-the-scenes condition
for Russia's ratification was an unwritten agreement that the
European Union would support Russia's admission to the World
Trade Organization. The WTO is the