Rostock, Germany:  June 07, 2007 - President Bush in his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “"The United States can serve as a bridge to help find a solution.” He said, “He will oppose specific caps on greenhouse gas emissions, even if there is some opposition.”

Naturally the bridge includes countries like China and India, high-growth countries that like the United States refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol with its restrictions on carbon emissions.

After the lunch meeting with Bush, Merkel said they had a good discussion about climate change, though there are a "few areas we have to continue to work on."
Merkel plans to ask G-8 members to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to half of their 1990 levels by the year 2050.

Bush plans to push his proposal for a conference of the world's leading polluters, to help each design its own climate change plan in accord with its own needs. A global consensus would emerge from those discussions, Bush said.

Jim Connaughton, who chairs the Council of Environmental Quality, said world leaders agree on the need to reduce emissions.

"The only area of disagreement is that the G-8 should dictate the national policies of its members," Connaughton said. "And that's not typically the way the G-8 acts."
A May report from a U.N. network of more than 2,000 scientists estimated that the world must stabilize the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere within eight years to keep global temperatures from spiking to disastrous levels.

Bush wants to bring India, China and other fast-growing countries to the negotiation table. He envisions that each country will set goals on how they want to improve energy security, reduce air pollution and cut greenhouse gases in the next 10 to 20 years.

"The United States can serve as a bridge to help find a solution," Bush said.
He predicted that leaders would produce a consensus for a post-Kyoto framework after the landmark treaty expires in 2012.

Bush also said he would pressure G-8 members to crack down on Sudan over genocide in Darfur. He suggested the possibility of a no-fly zone.
Merkel said she would seek help from China, which buys oil from the Sudan; China is not a G-8 member, but President Hu Jintao is attending the summit as per David Jackson, USA Today.

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