Blair and Arnie sidestep Bush on environment
Posted by DavidM in Green Politics | 2 August 2006
George W Bush - the scourge of environmentalists worldwide - must be a little upset with his friend Tony Blair this week.
Bush has refused to commit to stretching emissions reductions. Tony Blair has had no joy in persuading him to accept the facts and make a difference. So it looked like stalemate.
But this events took an interesting turn. Blair is on a tour of the US and yesterday met Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California and signed an agreement to work together to use science and technology to tackle climate change.
Despite being closely identified with the petrol-guzzling Hummer, Arnie has a reputation in California for tackling emissions and has recently been highly critical of the Bush administration. This wouldn't be so significant if he wasn't a fellow Republican.
It's a smart move by both Blair and Arnie. It shows that if the federal government won't budge then forward-thinking states will step in and make the deals themselves. For Blair, it serves to remind Bush that he may be a friend but he's prepared to work around him to get what he needs - important after the embarrassment of the overheard conversation between the two recently.
Most importantly, though, it's a high-profile step in the right direction and a great message. I just hope it becomes more than that and some tangible change comes from it.
