George W. Bush, climate change activist?

SAUL LOEB/AFP

The big news out of today’s speech by U.S. President George W. Bush is that the United States is apparently bowing to international pressure and will work on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol. Bush’s plan for moving forward:

By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases. To help develop this goal, the United States will convene a series of meetings of nations that produce most greenhouse gas emissions, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and China.

After six years of no progress, this would seem a welcome change. I’m skeptical, however. The United States has been pushing back against German efforts to put a more stringent climate change regime in place during the upcoming Group of Eight summit. This is clearly, as critics are already pointing out, an effort to take control of that process and water it down. And with only 18 months left in office, it’s pretty much impossible that a big initiative like Bush is proposing would get anywhere.

That said, it’s a good sign that even a noted skeptic like President Bush is finally recognizing a need to at least pretend to care about this issue. It’ll make things easier for his successor to do what is necessary.