June 4, 2002	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 22,1423

WASHINGTON, June 3: The US government has acknowledged the negative effects of global warming on the environment but refused to shift its position on the Kyoto protocol rejected by President George W. Bush’s administration last year.

In a 268-page report submitted to the United Nations over the weekend, the United States for the first time recognized that global warming is caused to a great degree by human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels.

“Projected temperatures in the contiguous United States will rise 3-5C (5-9F) on average during the 21st century,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warned in its third “US climate action report — 2002”.

But rather than focus on how to cut back on the so-called “greenhouse” gases, as called for in the Kyoto protocol, the EPA calls on the country to deal with the consequences of global warming, particularly as it affects water reserves and diseases linked to higher temperatures.

“As in the past, farmers will need to continue to adapt to the changing conditions,” the report said. The 15 European Union members simultaneously ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on Friday, pledging to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide from 1990 levels by an average of five percent during the period 2008-2012.—AFP