| | Words in the News |
INTRO | | President Bush has defended his decision not to implement the Kyoto treaty on global warming. He did so publicly at a news conference and privately to the German Chancellor, Gerhardt Schroeder, at the White House. Mr. Bush said he would work with allies on greenhouse gases, but would not accept a plan which hurt American workers. Mr. Schroeder said that they had disagreed about Kyoto. From Washington, Paul Reynolds reports. |
IN FULL | |  | Listen to the report in full |
 |  | 2nd April 2001 America rejects climate treaty |
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NEWS 1 | | | Listen to the part one of the report |
| | | Mr. Bush is making no apology for his position. He is arguing that the United States is facing an economic downturn and an energycrisis and will not reduce CO2 and other emissions until it can use more natural gas and it lacks the infrastructure for that. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office with Mr. Schroeder at his side, Mr. Bush made plain that national interest was guiding his policy.
"While I worry about emissions and we will work together to achieve efficiencies through new technologies, I'm also worried about the fact that people may not be finding jobs in America. I will consult with our friends, but it's going to be what's in the interests of our country first and foremost." |
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WORDS | | position: here, position means an attitude towards a matter economic downturn: if there is a downturn in an economy, it becomes less successful
energy : power obtained from sources such as coal, oil or water
crisis: a dangerous situation that could cause hardship reduce CO2: lower the amount of carbon dioxide, a gas produced by some chemical reactions
infrastructure: the structure that helps a country function effectively, including facilities, services and equipment
national interest: things that will benefit the whole country
emissions: when there is an emission of a gas it is released into the atmosphere
first and foremost: more than anything else |
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| NEWS 2 | | | Listen to the second part of the report |
| | | Mr. Schroeder said diplomatically that they would work on other issues around global warming, such as encouraging renewable resources. But he did not hide their disagreement over Kyoto. President Bush has ordered a review of alternatives. In the meantime, though, there is a policy vacuum. This does not seem to worry him. Kyoto joins a growing list of policies in which the administration defines its interests and then accepts arguments, but no real change. |
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| WORDS | | diplomatically: if you say something diplomatically, you say it without offending anyone
renewable resources: a renewable resource is one such as wood which is naturally replaced when it is used, rather than being destroyed
disagreement: the act of indicating that you object to something that you find unacceptable
policy vacuum: when plans to help future decisions are not being made
arguments: an argument here is a set of reasons or statements that you use to convince people that your opinion is correct |
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