President George W. Bush chose not to sign the Kyoto Protocol during his time in office. As world leaders meet in Bali to road-map the next phase after the Kyoto agreement ends in 2012, the President has stressed his reluctance to agree to an international climate agreement.

A total of 172 countries and government entities have ratified the [Kyoto] protocol, which requires them to meet targeted curbs in their greenhouse-gas emissions by 2012, but exempts developing countries.

That means countries such as China and India are exempt, even though they are on track to outpace the United States as the world's biggest polluter. Washington has made their exemption a central argument for not signing on to the protocol which was established in 1997.

Bush's administration has called Kyoto "fatally flawed," and said it would cripple the US economy.

American Foreign Press, 11/30/07

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gGHBZiCFIbskaz8RWdJ7QpOYgrFQ

Submitted by B. Shapiro