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US Opposes G8 Climate Proposals
elrond writes "The US appears to have summarily rejected draft proposals for G8 members that would have agreed to tougher measures for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. The BBC reports that leaked documents have indicated the positions of the various world powers, from the timetable-setting of Germany to the US's intractable stance. Red ink comments on the documents hint at the US's irritation: 'The US still has serious, fundamental concerns about this draft statement. The treatment of climate change runs counter to our overall position and crosses 'multiple red lines' in terms of what we simply cannot agree to ... We have tried to tread lightly but there is only so far we can go given our fundamental opposition to the German position.'"
"If political will existed we could have vehicles that do everything SUVs do now, and houses just as big and comfy as the ones we have now, that had only a small fraction of the environmental impact. The technology is there; it's just a question of making it economically feasible."
Considering that the environmental impact of SUVs versus, say, a Prius is negligible in the big environmental calculus, I would say that it is an entirely unimportant point. On the list of things that will have the most impact on the environment that is way, way down the list in both terms of impact and return on investment as far as the environment goes.
People routinely conflate oil trade issues with environmental issues -- they are not the same. Eliminating all SUVs tomorrow will have a negligible impact on CO2 production or most other environmental issues people seem to care about. Eliminating SUVs tomorrow would impact the geopolitics of the oil trade, but that has very little to do with environmental impact. A lot of people get hot and bothered about SUVs, but they are pretty much inconsequential in terms of the environment if you look at actual relative impact numbers. If environmental results are all we are looking for, spending energy on SUVs offers an incredibly low return on investment.