Environmentalists rallied in front of the East West Center here on Wednesday to press their demand for tougher action by the Bush administration to tackle climate change.
Holding banners which read "Global Warming: Take Action Now," "No Rainforest Destruction for Biofuel" and "Clean Energy Now," the demonstrators lined the street opposite the East West Center as representatives were entering the venue of the Major Economics Meeting on Energy Safety and Climate Change.
"We want our voice heard by people attending the meeting so as to make the Bush administration change its stubborn policy on climate change," Henry Curtis, Executive Director of a local environmental group Life of the Land, told Xinhua.
Hosted by the Bush administration, the two-day climate change meeting, which began Wednesday, brought together representatives from 15 countries as well as the United Nations and the European Union.
"We are very upset to see our government was dragging international efforts to combat climate change," Curtis said in reference to the Bush Administration's withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, an international and legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
The United States, the world's biggest carbon emitter, opposed the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, saying it would be too expensive and should include targets for developing nations.
Hoping to show the world it really does want to do more to address global warming, the Bush administration invited leaders of the world's biggest economies to the Honolulu meeting to discuss climate change.
At the meeting, high-ranking officials from some of the world's biggest economies are expected to find ways to reduce greenhouse gases and slow global warming without stopping development. Participating countries include the United States, Japan, France, Britain, China, India and Brazil.
The conference will further talks held in Bali, Indonesia, last month, at which countries agreed to adopt a blueprint for fighting global warming by 2009. Details for reducing greenhouse gas emissions must still be worked out.
But the Honolulu meeting was criticized for diverting world efforts in the fight against climate change so as to serve the U.S. interests.
"I'm hurt to see that my country is too selfish in terms of fighting climate change," said Kat Brady, a demonstrator.
"To fight climate change needs worldwide efforts and the United States should join the international community instead of focusing on its own program," Brady told Xinhua.
Source: Xinhua
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