US President George W. Bush is to announce his vision for fighting global climate change on Wednesday, in a marked turnaround for a president who has long steered clear of the topic.

The speech by Bush, known for cosying up to big energy-burning industries and opposing mandatory caps on carbon emissions as too costly to the economy, will lay out goals for countering environmental pollution over the next 20-50 years.

Bush's spokesperson revealed few details, but the leader of one of the world's top polluters was not expected to stray far from the largely voluntary, pro-technology approach he has embraced in the past.

A strategy

"This speech is not going to lay out a specific proposal," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. "It is a speech that will talk about a strategy for a way forward, and principles for dealing with the problem."

The address is scheduled for 2.45pm (1845 GMT) on Wednesday, on the eve of a meeting of the world's major polluters in Paris on Thursday and Friday.

Bush's announcement would include "identifying long term and realistic intermediate goals for greenhouse gas emissions," linked to what US representatives would discuss at a meeting of "major economies" in Paris, Perino said.

This process is "important in our strong belief to prevent companies in other countries from gaining a competitive advantage over US companies," she said.

"This will ensure that all major economies like France, Germany, China and India play a role in any international agreement so as to avoid a future Kyoto-like effect," she said, referring to the 1997 treaty which did not require high-polluting developing countries to reduce emissions.

Incentives for change

Former president Bill Clinton signed Kyoto but the United States never ratified it and Bush abandoned it in 2001, saying the binding restrictions on US emissions would prove too costly and harmful to US ability to compete.

The Republican president made no mention of the words "global warming" or "climate change" in his first five State of the Union addresses.

Last year he acknowledged that climate change is a "serious challenge," a statement environmental groups welcomed as an important first step, but critics said he could have gone further toward creating incentives for change.

In the sunset of his White House tenure, clean energies have gained popularity amid fears of permanent global damage from pollution, and pressure has mounted for Congress to pass federal legislation to limit the levels of emissions.

"In announcing these goals he will emphasize the importance of incentivising technologies as an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will talk about his concerns with approaches" scheduled for debate in the Senate in June, Perino said.

'Cap and trade' proposals

Perino reiterated that the president could not support current proposals being discussed in Congress, including a bill that would introduce a European-like system of "cap and trade," because it would harm the already struggling US economy.

A bill sponsored by Republican Senator John Warner and independent Senator Joe Lieberman would set a limit on the level of carbon emissions and introduce economic incentives for cutting back on pollutants.

Legislation under discussion in the Democratic-led Congress includes "approaches that are unrealistic and or would have a dramatically negative impact on our economy," Perino said.

Ministers from 16 economies which together account for 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have gathered in Paris for the "Major Economies Meeting," the third in a series launched last September by Bush.

A senior administration official declined to say whether Bush would give a target figure on carbon emissions in the next 20-50 years, but said the proposal is "serious, it's thoughtful and it's reflective of our economy and the technological capacities that we believe will be available."

The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. On average it requires nations to reduce their emissions 5.2 percent below their 1990 level between 2008 and 2012. This would represent a 29 percent cut in overall emissions compared to levels expected by 2010.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the only proposal set forth by Bush so far was in 2002, when he set a goal of reducing emissions growth by 18 percent by 2012.

"That is a goal that we are well on our way to meeting," he said.

AFP