The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
4 April 2001
Dear Mr. President,
We, the members of GLOBE Japan, submit this letter in order to express our concern about the decision of the U.S. President's administration to reject the Kyoto Protocol. We also would like to emphasize that the U.S. government should take actions to reduce greenhouse gases as described under the Kyoto Protocol by co-operating with other countries.
In its Third Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) demonstrates that human activities have contributed to an increasingly negative impact on global warming for more than 50 years. In addition, it is predicted that not only the average temperature on earth could rise to a maximum of 5.8C, but also the sea level could rise to a maximum of 88 cm. In fact, the life-threatening impact of climate change on the world's biodiversity and the delicate balance of fragile ecosystems have been widely recognised. It has been projected that many countries will be negatively impacted by global warming in the near future. In particular, an increase in extreme weather, such as heavy rain and drought, caused by climate change is expected to have a negative influence on agriculture.
The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, has become the international indicator for tackling global warming. As the U.S. government signed to adopt this protocol, you have precisely the responsibility to implement it.
We, GLOBE Japan members, have strongly supported the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol along with the other GLOBE family members. Through our activities, we are convinced that a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is a key component to securing a sustainable future.
Moreover, the Kyoto Mechanism is a tool for reaching this emission reduction. As the U.S. emits one-fourth of the world's total carbon dioxide emissions, it has a commanding responsibility to deal with reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
We, GLOBE Japan members, feel that the U.S. should co-operate with other countries to agree to the full implementation of the Kyoto Protocol at the resumed COP6 negotiations. It is clear that from a long-term perspective, the reduction of greenhouse gases is important and necessary to promote sustainable development for future generations. We hope that you and your administration will take leadership with other developed countries toward reducing greenhouse gases and play an essential role in international co-operation.
Respectfully yours,
House of Representatives
| Eisei Ito | Kaneshige Wakamatsu |
| Ryutaro Hashimoto | Yutaka Banno |
| Hiroshi Hase | Mamoru Kobayashi |
| Zenjiro Kaneko | Taro Kono |
| Hiroyuki Nagahama | Masaharu Nakagawa |
| Tomoko Nakagawa | Gen Nakatani |
| Hirosato Nakatsugawa | Seiko Noda |
| Yoshitake Masuhara | Kenichi Mizuno |
| Muneaki Samejima | Nobuhiko Suto |
| Tsuneo Suzuki | Yukio Ubukata |
| Takeshi Yamamura | Toshimasa Yamada |
| Nobumori Ohtani | Shozo Azuma |
House of Councillors
| Wakako Hironaka | Junichi Fukumoto |
| Tetsurou Fukuyama | Yoshimasa Hayashi |
| Sanzo Hosaka | Shuichi Kato |
| Seiichi Mizuno | Masako Ohwaki |
| Kayoko Shimizu | Ichita Yamamoto |
| Hiroshi Takano | Takashi Kosugi, Special Advisor |