Climate Change Expert on US Position
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In a press conference earlier this year, President George W. Bush explained why the US would not sign the International Kyoto Treaty designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The announcement set off alarm bells among supporters of the treaty's principles. This includes leaders of nations and scientists, including the world's top climatologist, Bob Watson in New Zealand. Correspondent Allan Coukell files this report.

Global warming is largely caused by human production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

So when the United States announced that it would no longer support the treaty aimed at reducing greenhouse has emissions, it seemed to be bad news for the climate.

As the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Bob Watson is the world's top climate scientist. He says US participation in the accord is essential.

There is no question Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Japan could sign the accord and go without the United States. But the United States is 25% per cent of the world's emissions. Therefore I think it is extremely important to work with the United States government to get them to recognize that climate change is a serious environmental issue and that they can reduce their emissions in a cost-effective way. I believe a climate accord without the United States would be highly weakened and our challenge now is to work with the United States to get them to ratify this particular accord.

Dr Watson says he hopes policy makers can be convinced that greenhouse gas reductions can be made without harming the US economy - and that, in the long term, reducing climate change will be economically beneficial.

Thanks today to Allan Coukell of Auckland New Zealand. The Weather Notebook is a production of the Mount Washington Observatory. It is supported by the National Science Foundation. For more on climate, check out our website, www. Weathernotebook.org