Bush's Climate-Change Feint

"'The U.S. approach has proven to be ineffective in reducing emissions,' Dimas added of Bush's call on Thursday for 15 major countries to agree by 2008 on a long-term goal for cutting emissions."

Philip Stephens writes in the Financial Times: "Time and pressure have at last persuaded Mr Bush to admit the problem. Yesterday, the White House finally agreed that the US could no longer sit on the sidelines. . . .

"The US president, though, will have to forgive those who greet it with more than a touch of scepticism. Many will consider that it is as much spin as substance - calculated as much to avoid US isolation at the summit as to secure a credible international agreement."

Thomson Financial News reports: "Environmental campaigners accused US President George W. Bush of attempting to 'derail' negotiations over tackling climate change ahead of the G8 summit next week. . . .

"Friends of the Earth (FoE) and Greenpeace expressed strong disappointment at Bush's announcement, saying the effect of his move would be to 'wreck' the existing process."

From a BBC Q and A: "Has President Bush become the latest convert to the cause of tackling climate change by curbing emissions?"

A: "It is the first time the US president has publicly said that 'long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gases' are needed.

"Mr Bush's statement has caught the media's attention, but - so far - lacks the detail needed to assess whether the proposal marks a change of heart in the White House over the need for globally binding emission targets."

The Financial Times writes in an editorial: "George W. Bush is justly famous for his tendency cheerily to dismiss uncomfortable realities, but even by his standards, his comments yesterday on climate change showed astonishing chutzpah."

On This Side of the Pond

Skepticism was not absent on our own shores.

The Washington Post's spin-resistant Dana Milbank called attention to an exchange at yesterday's briefing by Jim Connaughton, the president's adviser on the environment:

"'Will the new framework consist of binding commitments or voluntary commitments?' asked CBS News's Jim Axelrod.