International Environmental Issues

In our bureau we are fortunate to be able to work on an exciting range of international environmental issues—everything from climate change, to air and water pollution, to the conservation of forests, oceans and marine life, to space exploration, and combating infectious diseases.

These critical issues have a far-reaching influence on other spheres of diplomacy. Environmental issues, for example, hold important consequences for stability within a region or stability within a particular country. And environmental issues are absolutely integral to development throughout the world.

Many of you may not be aware that this State Department and the Bush Administration are providing greater leadership and more resources than any other for a host of environmental priorities around the world.

Let me give you one recent example. Do any of you know where the largest protected marine area in the world is?

It is in the waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands where last year President Bush – working with state, local, and international partners – established those waters as an area for special protection and management.

This area – the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument – became the largest single conservation area in the history of the United States, and, as I said, the largest protected marine area in the world.

It is home to 4,500 square miles of coral reef habitat – the largest remote reef system in the world, and the reefs and surrounding tropical waters are home to more than 7,000 marine species. And now this fragile area of the ocean and its habitat will be protected and sustained for generations.

Here are some of the other things we’ve done:

To protect wildlife, the United States established a voluntary public-private coalition of likeminded governments and organizations that aims to focus public and political attention on ending the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products. It is called the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking.

This global coalition is made up of 18 partners from governments, international organizations and conservation groups. It has improved wildlife law enforcement, reduced consumer demand for illegally traded wildlife, and catalyzed high-level political will to fight wildlife trafficking.

To preserve forests, the United States has partnered with, supported, and funded initiatives in Indonesia, Liberia, and the Congo Basin, among other areas, to combat illegal logging and implement important forest reforms that will sustain forests, generate employment, and alleviate poverty.

As you know, forests are the “lungs” of the environment. They replenish the earth's atmosphere and provide fresh air by storing carbon and producing oxygen. Forests are also home to 70% of all land-living plants and animals and provide food, fuel, shelter, clean water, medicine and livelihood for people worldwide, so it is critical to protect them.

To fight disease around the globe, and help people develop and protect sustainable resources that they can pass on to their children and grandchildren, we’ve developed partnerships to leverage the expertise, innovation, and financing provided by the private sector, non-profit, academic, and international interests.

These partnerships have supplied over 19 million people with increased access to energy, provided 19 million people with better access to safe drinking water, brought 26 million people improved sanitation, and eliminated harmful leaded gasoline in sub-Saharan Africa for 733 million people, among other accomplishments.

These are a few examples that highlight what the United States is doing to preserve the Earth and its resources for future generations. You’ll notice a theme in all of those examples. Did anyone catch what the unifying element is in all those examples?

Yes, that’s correct: Partnerships – with other countries, with businesses, with non-profit or charitable organizations, with universities and schools, and with local citizens like you. As we confront all these daunting global challenges, we recognize that we cannot achieve our environmental goals alone.

We can, however achieve our environmental goals by engaging both governments and nongovernmental organizations diplomatically through informal partnerships.

That is why over the last six years the U.S. has embarked on this path toward a collaborative, results-oriented diplomatic model to mobilize concrete actions to provide basic services to people and encourage economic growth, social development, and environmental stewardship that better protects and sustains the Earth’s valuable natural resources.

These partnerships provide a critical link between internationally agreed environmental goals and the on-the-ground ideas, efforts, and resources of governments, civil society, and the private sector.

I’d like give you a very recent example of the partnership approach and the diplomatic process.

First I want to ask you: what environmental issue is most important to you? Raise your hand.

Climate change is an issue that is important to many people. It is at the top of many world leaders’ agendas, and it was one of the major topics discussed during last week’s G8 Summit. You read about it everyday in the newspapers.

Many of those newspapers have focused on the fact that the United States did not join the Kyoto protocol and paint us as a negative influence on environmental protection.

The truth is quite different.

Let me ask another question. Which world leader has called for “technological breakthroughs” that address the “serious challenge of global climate change,” and has pursued specific, effective measures at home and around the world for the past six years to confront the problem?

Most people probably wouldn’t answer “U.S. President George W. Bush.” Despite some of the news reports to the contrary, however, he has been working here in the United States and closely with world leaders to find solutions to climate change.

In 2002, President Bush set an ambitious goal to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the U.S. economy by 18% by 2012. We have a diverse portfolio of policy measures, including dozens of mandatory, incentive-based and voluntary programs to meet this goal – and results to show for them.

Our emissions performance since 2000 has been among the best in the developed world. According to International Energy Agency data, from 2000-2004 U.S. carbon dioxide emissions increased by 1.7 percent. This was very modest growth, considering that during that time our real Gross Domestic Product, which measures the size of the economy, grew by 9.6 percent, and our population increased by more than 11 million people.

President Bush recently set a goal to reduce gasoline usage in the U.S. by 20 percent over the next decade. Through incentives, more stringent fuel economy standards, research on alternative fuels like biodiesel and ethanol, and $12 billion invested to develop cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy sources, the United States could cut annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 10 percent, or around 175 million metric tons, by 2017. This would be like taking 26 million automobiles off the road today.

In addition to taking action at home, the United States is collaborating with countries around the world to address climate change.

For example, the United States has worked in partnership with countries in the Asia Pacific region, through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP). It is one of our most important programs because it generates results where they matter most – in countries that are the world’s major emitters of greenhouse gases.

The Unites States established the Asia-Pacific Partnership to bring together Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States to tackle complementary energy, economic, and environmental goals. These six countries account for about half of the world’s economic output, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions.

In each of these partner countries, governments and the private sector have forged partnerships to develop and deploy clean, efficient energy technologies.

One such deployment involves leveraging a $500,000 U.S. government grant into $120 million of investment to build the world’s largest coal mine methane power facility in China – which, when completed, will avoid the equivalent emissions of one million cars annually.

Most recently, President Bush proposed a new international climate change framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. The President’s proposal is based on the principle that climate change must be addressed by fostering both energy security and economic security, and by accelerating the development and deployment of clean energy technologies. This is an approach that balances economic growth with the need to protect the environment.

Many newspapers reported that the United States was disregarding German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the United Nations’ own proposal for a post-Kyoto climate change framework.

Headlines in some of the papers read: “Bush’s Emission Plan ‘A Delaying Tactic’” and “Bush Kills Off Hopes for G8 Climate Change Plan,” and “EU Chief Slams Bush Climate Change Plan, Predicts Failure at G8”…you get the picture.

The next week however, the headlines read: “Progress on Climate Change” and “G8 Leaders Agree to Climate Deal.”

Well how did we get to an agreement from such a contentious starting point? The answer is diplomacy – discussion followed by compromise. We advanced areas of common interest to come up with a workable solution for all nations.

In the end, the President assured G8 leaders that his framework would complement United Nations activity, and that the United States remains committed to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The United States assured the G8 nations that it plans to participate in negotiations to seek a replacement for Kyoto at the climate change meetings scheduled for December in Bali, Indonesia.

President Bush encouraged other world leaders to increase their own investments in research and development of clean energy technology. And he urged that any framework proposals must include developed and developing economies that generate the majority of greenhouse gas emissions and consume the most energy, such as China and India.

G8 nations agreed to seek substantial cuts in emissions – setting a “global goal” without mandatory targets that they had previously advocated. In addition, the declaration that came out of the G8 meetings acknowledged that different approaches can “coordinate rather than compete.”

The progress made at the G8 summit, and other successes I’ve mentioned, show what can be done in the realm of diplomacy. Diplomacy is hard. Not everyone or every country agrees with each other on the best way to solve problems. Finding solutions that both sides can live with is what diplomacy is about. Though it can be contentious, countries can often find common ground from which successes bloom.

The United States will continue to work with other countries using traditional diplomatic channels. But we’ll also try to move beyond treaties and words on paper toward what Secretary Rice calls “transformational diplomacy” – implementation and real results by launching partnerships like the Asia-Pacific Partnership that advance economic growth, promote social development, and protect the environment worldwide.

Our strong partnerships give us reason to be hopeful about the future, but there is much work still to be done. I want to assure you we remain dedicated to our commitment to sound environmental practices and governance both at home and abroad, but the outcome of much of our work will be the responsibility of younger generations. You are the bridge to the future.

There is a Kashmiri proverb that runs, “We have not inherited the world from our forefathers—we have borrowed it from our children.”

I am encouraged that when the baton is passed on these critical issues, it will be into the competent hands of young leaders like all of you in this room. Thank you.