As Blair leaves Washington, US hardens stance on climate change

The man who George Bush admitted might have lost his Premiership because of his friendship with him, has had his last visit to Washington end as so many of his previous visits ended, with lots of rhetoric that appeared to suit his cause and zero actual action on the ground.

Together in front of the microphones, Bush said what Blair wanted to hear:

"We spent a lot of time on climate change. And I agree with the Prime Minister, as I have stated publicly, this is a serious issue, and the United States takes it seriously." Mr Blair welcomed the comments and said in response: "The important thing is that we see that it's possible for people to come together on an agreement for the future that will allow us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Meanwhile, away from the cameras, the US delegation to Bonn was talking a very different language:

"We don't believe targets and timetables are important, or a global cap and trade system," he said. "It's important not to jeopardise economic growth."

Speaking on condition of anonymity a senior climate negotiator, party to the talks, said that the US was even stalling progress on negotiations on a successor to Kyoto which had been due to get under way at a summit in Bali later this year.

"We were not expecting a big change of stance but we need them to stop obstructing all progress across the board," said the source.

And therein lies the rub of their relationship. Bush may talk the talk, but on this - as on so many other issues - he simply will not walk the walk. It's easy to say you are serious about climate change, but if you are not prepared to change any of your actions then how can anyone take what you say seriously.

Kevin Conrad, the chief negotiator for Papua New Guinea, which has emerged as a leading voice among poorer nations, has described that United States as "impotent" on climate change and, worse, implied that this impotence comes from the very top of the US administration. Why do the words "Dick Cheney" fly through my mind?

"There is a huge gap between rhetoric and reality," said Mr Conrad. "Saying 'we're taking it very seriously' but not putting any serious tools in place to do anything. The missing link is the White House, where there's no vision and no direction."

The US delegation are insisting that further technical work is needed before talks can begin on a son-of-Kyoto agreement, which could delay things for a further year, when no-one can be sure what the effects of a further years delay will be. Already Australia is facing drought and having to divert water away from 40% of it's agricultural region in order to ensure that it's populace can drink. Ironically, Howard was one of the world's leading sceptics on climate change, although even he admits that he now broadly accepts the science behind it.

And, while Bush wastes another year, deforestation continues unabated, which is considered one of the main reasons for global warming.

The Bush presidency has long been seen as disastrous for the United States, but may now have consequences for the entire planet.

Andrew Mitchell, director of the Global Canopy Programme, an alliance of leading rainforest scientists, said: "This is a climate change cop-out. America must stop using technical objections to obstruct the process and concentrate on visionary means of reaching our goal. Each year that agreement is not reached raises the stakes on global warming and is a tragedy for the world's rainforests with a further 8 billion tonnes of CO2 and biodiversity going up in smoke."

To anyone who wants to argue that Bush may have a point and that we can't know for certain what the consequences of delay will be, I will say only this: If we wait until we know for certain what the consequences will be, it will be too late. We have to act NOW.

If we are wrong, if global warming is a myth, then we lose a few pounds. However, if - and most experts believe this to be the case - global warming is real and we delay, then we risk losing huge swathes of the planet.

I've always said that Bush is a very bad gambler, but he is now gambling for stakes that he's not qualified to bet with.

And so Blair leaves Washington, as he has on so many previous occasions, with George Bush's warm words of praise ringing in his ears and bugger all of any practical value in his hand.

That really has summed up the "special relationship" for the past six years. George Bush: the present that keeps on taking.

Blair has gained nothing from this "special relationship", a relationship that Bush himself admits might have cost him his Premiership.

Brown should take note, lest he join Blair, Berlusconi and Aznar as another political sacrifice at the altar of King George.

The truth about PM's 'special relationship' with Bush

Iraq

Britain disagreed with the US over two key decisions in May 2003, two months after the invasion - to disband Iraq's army and "de-Ba'athify" its civil service. Geoff Hoon, on 2 May 2007, said: "Sometimes ... Tony (Blair) had made his point with the President, I'd made my point with Don [Rumsfeld] and Jack [Straw] had made his point with Colin [Powell] and the decision actually came out of a completely different place. And you think: what did we miss? I think we missed (Vice-President Dick) Cheney."

Iran

Britain's Foreign Secretary at the time, Jack Straw - now Gordon Brown's campaign manager - led calls for Iran to be drawn into talks. The White House rejected the calls, even when they were backed up by the President's Iraq Study Group. The US this week opened talks with Iran.

Guantanamo Bay

The White House rebuffed repeated requests by British ministers, led by the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, for the release of UK nationals held in Cuba as part of the "war on terror". Eventually, nine Britons were freed by the US - but none of those men have been charged in this country. At least three British residents remain in custody at Guantanamo and MPs have launched a campaign to win their freedom.

Conditions at the camp have been condemned by human rights activists worldwide, and British ministers have called for it to be closed.

The Middle East

Mr Blair pleaded for an "even-handed approach" to the Middle East in April 2004 and called for greater priority to be given to the "roadmap" to peace. Within 48 hours, his call was rejected by President Bush. Jack Straw underlined Britain's unease, saying: "President Bush ... has to make his own judgments. We make our own." Last year, the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said Bush had been "crap" on the road map.

The Natwest Three

The US demanded the extradition of three ex-NatWest bankers, using a treaty it had not ratified, in relation to the collapse of the energy giant Enron. Mr Blair was reduced to pleading for the accused to be released on bail.

There really is no way to underestimate the damage that has been done to the US by Dick Cheney. Behind every disastrous decision, the fingerprints of that man can be found.

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