U.S. Allies Criticize Anti-Warming Plan

BERLIN, Oct. 23—Major U.S. allies in Europe and Asia criticized President Clinton's long-awaited plan to curb global warming today as weak and ineffectual, claiming it does not measure up to U.S. responsibilities to protect the environment as the world's leading polluter and lone superpower.

The skeptical response to Clinton's package of incentives and modest goals -- which seeks to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012 -- reflects the new light in which the world has begun to assess American leadership in the post-Cold War era.

In terms of the environment, the United States is being scrutinized to see if it is willing to accept sacrifices to cope with global warming that are commensurate with its overwhelming influence. By that yardstick, Clinton's prescription on how to curtail greenhouse gases has come up short in the court of world opinion.

Germany's environment minister, Angela Merkel, called the U.S. proposals "disappointing and insufficient." Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto lamented that "there might have been room for further efforts." Britain's deputy prime minister, John Prescott, said the plan does not go far enough, and he urged the United States to become "much more ambitious" in preparation for final negotiations on a global warming treaty in Kyoto, Japan, in early December.

"It is simply not good enough," said Peter Jorgensen, spokesman for the 15-nation European Union's executive commission in Brussels. "There must be something better coming from the White House if the United States wants to face up to its global responsibilities."

Most countries of the world tax gasoline so heavily -- both to encourage energy conservation and to provide government revenue -- that the fuel costs $5 a gallon or more at the pump. With prices about one-fourth that in the United States, the global warming controversy has convinced many foreigners that Americans are not just wasteful gas guzzlers but a menace to the rest of the planet.

While administration officials sought to portray the Clinton plan as a balanced formula to accommodate the anxieties of industry and environmentalists alike, governments in Europe, Japan and the developing world say it is woefully inadequate for a nation that represents 4 percent of the world's population but produces 25 percent of the carbon dioxide and other gases that may provoke a disastrous rise in Earth's temperature.

Greenhouse gases are produced mostly by the burning of fossil fuels as primary energy sources, such as coal and oil. The gases emulate a greenhouse effect by trapping Earth's heat in the atmosphere and raising temperatures. Scientists say this warming effect will elevate sea levels by melting polar icecaps and cause drastic shifts in weather patterns, provoking floods in some areas and drought in others.

Clinton's plan was unveiled as delegates from 150 nations gathered in Bonn to try to narrow differences on a global warming treaty prior to the final round of negotiations in Kyoto. The Bonn talks will focus on two key goals: where to set targets for industrialized nations in curbing greenhouse gases and how to contrive a formula that would encourage developing countries to reduce emissions of their own over the next two decades.

Developing nations, led by China, Brazil and India, object to any restrictions on their emissions because, they argue, such measures would hinder their economic growth. They insist that developed nations should bear the brunt of any sacrifice because their industrial economies largely have spawned the global warming threat through the rampant burning of fossil fuels.

Europe and Japan have accepted that premise and proposed binding reductions below 1990 emission levels that are more ambitious than the goals of the Clinton administration. The EU nations have embraced a goal of reducing emissions by 15 percent below 1990 levels by 2010, while Japan has proposed a 5 percent cut by 2012.

Four years ago, Clinton vowed to return to 1990 levels by the end of the decade. But administration officials say he was forced to break that pledge because an unexpected boom in the U.S. economy has accelerated pollution levels. At current growth rates, U.S. greenhouse gas levels will rise 13 percent above those of 1990 by the end of the decade. They rose 3.4 percent in the past year alone, according to an Energy Department report released this week.

"Clinton is taking a significant step in the wrong direction," said EU Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard. "He promised to hold gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000, and now he is pushing it back to around 2010."

Clinton's plan represents a substantial cut in greenhouse gas emissions that U.S. officials say is being overlooked by allies in Europe and Asia. The United States is projected to produce 23 percent more emissions by 2010 if nothing is done, they say, so bringing output back to 1990 levels would be a significant achievement.

Facing a tough battle to persuade foreign critics, senior U.S. officials arrived at the Bonn conference hoping to sell the virtues of the administration's approach and to show why they believe the Japanese and European approaches are unrealistic.

The United States argues that the EU goal is somewhat artificial because of dramatic emission reductions that already have occurred in Germany and Britain. Germany has cut its greenhouse gas output by 11 percent since 1990, largely by shutting down many coal-fired plants in the eastern part of the country after reunification. Britain has cut back by 4 percent by ending coal subsidies and switching to cleaner natural gas-based heating systems.

In addition, Washington has complained that it is unfair for the Europeans to adopt a "bubble concept" that treats their 15-nation bloc as a whole and thus allows some EU countries to avoid any reductions at all. As a result of dramatic declines by Germany and Britain that could reach 25 percent, Portugal and Spain will be allowed to increase emissions, while France will be allowed to keep its emissions at current levels.