In line with undertakings given after withdrawing from Kyoto negotiations, President Bush has outlined two initiatives to cut pollution from power plants and and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They are to be known as the Clear Skies initiative and global climate change policy. The first sets targets to be met progressively by 2018 for reductions in the worst pollutants from power plant - NOx, SO2 and mercury. SO2 is to be reduced by 73 per cent in all from the present level of 11 million tons to capped levels of 4.5 mt in 2010 and 3 mt in 2018. NOx emissions are also to be capped - from 5 mt to 2.1 mt by 2008 and 1.7 mt in 2018, a 69 per cent reduction on current levels. And in the first ever cap on mercury emissions, levels must be down from 48 tons to 26 tons in 2010 and to 15 tons in 2018. The mechanism is to be based on the 1990 Clean Air Act acid rain programme, a market based approach considered to have been highly successful. The president has committed the USA to what the administration is calling an aggressive new strategy on the issue of climate change, aimed at prooducing ultinmately a programme roughly as demanding as the Kyoto agreement . The rate of increase of emissions of what are referred to as greenhouse gases are to be slowed down, to meet a target of an 18 per cent cut in 'greenhouse gas intensity' over the next ten years but without endangering the livelihoods of voters. This is a measure of GHG emission compared to economoic output, and is designed to The aim is to slow it down and ultimately to go into reverse. In figures, the current estimated level of 183 tons per million dollars of GDP in 2002 should be reduced to 151 in 2012. To implement these policies the administration is relying on a market based approach coupled with the development of cleaner technologies and improved monitoring of the national situation. The budget for 'global climate change related activities' including tax breaks for renewables is to be increased by $700 m to $4.5 billion. Such a growth-based approach would, it is hoped, 'accelerate the development of new technologies, encourage partnerships on climate change issues with the developing world'.
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