U.N. Climate Conference Ends, No Agreement Reached. “World economic powers hurled blame at each other
for the two-week Hague summit’s ending without a plan to
coordinate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.” The third world, which is considered at much higher risk from increased temperatures, faults the industrialized nations for squabbling over cost. The US, in particular, is criticized for thinking it can buy its way out of trouble, and, because it stands to face the greatest costs under the proposed new treaty, for a move, generally considered sleazy, to attempt to obtain credit for the CO2-removing photosynthetic effects of its forests and grasslands. (The New York Times says the US “can’t see the forest for the trees.”) The stalemate stacked up as the US, Australia, Canada and Japan against the EU. One more try is scheduled for May, 2001.