CBS4 failed to report broad criticism of Bush's announced plan on greenhouse gas reduction

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Reporting on President Bush's newly announced plan to address climate change, KCNC CBS4's Molly Hughes stated that Bush urged “14 nations to join the U.S.” in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and asked “countries to come to an agreement by next year.” But Hughes did not mention that Bush's plan has drawn widespread criticism from policymakers in the United States and abroad.

In a May 31 report about a recently proposed White House strategy to address climate change in advance of the June 6-8 G-8 summit, KCNC CBS4 co-anchor Molly Hughes noted that President Bush had “called on 14 nations to join the U.S. in stepping up the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” and that "[t]he president wants ... the countries to come to an agreement by next year." Hughes' report, however, omitted mention that Bush's plan has received widespread criticism from U.S. and foreign policymakers, who cited not only Bush's poor track record on climate change, but also his plan's lack of substance.

From the May 31 broadcast of KCNC's CBS4 News at 6 p.m.:

HUGHES: President Bush today called on 14 nations to join the U.S. in stepping up the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The president outlined his proposal ahead of next week's G-8 Summit in Germany, where climate change will be discussed thoroughly. The president wants to -- the countries to come to an agreement by next year on this issue.

As the Associated Press reported on May 31, “President Bush, under international pressure to take tough action against global warming ... called for a summit of the United States and other nations that spew the most greenhouse gases on the planet,” in order to establish “a long-term global strategy for reducing emissions.” In reporting on Bush's “call[]” to “reduce” greenhouse gas emissions, CBS4 ignored widespread criticism of Bush's plan, titled, “A New International Climate Change Framework.”

As the AP noted, “critics” have called Bush's greenhouse emissions plan an attempt “to set unenforceable targets for curbing greenhouse gas, not concrete limits on emissions.” The AP noted that these same critics have “contend[ed] he [Bush] is ignoring other international efforts on climate change that are already under way” while “trying to avoid taking action until he leaves office.”

The AP also quoted David Doniger, climate policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, reporting that he “said Bush will have no credibility with the countries he wants to bring to the table unless he's committed to specific limits to cap the United States' own contributions to global warming.” According to the same article, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) similarly said that “getting nations to set voluntary emissions targets was not enough to reverse warming of the planet.”

Reporting on the foreign response to Bush's announcement, the AP further noted, “The administration is resisting parts of a climate change initiative being pushed by the host of the G-8 meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.” The Chicago Tribune similarly reported that “with its lack of specifics, the president's plan for addressing climate change falls far short of what the other world leaders hope to deliver at the G-8 summit.” According to the Tribune, experts have observed that Bush's recommendation is “vague by the standards of European leaders and is likely to disappoint those ready to commit to specifics this year.”

Noting the significance of Bush's track record on greenhouse gas reduction initiatives, the Tribune also noted that “Bush has long resisted strong action on climate change,” and “has refused to let the U.S. join the Kyoto Protocol,” a treaty signed by 150 other nations. The Kyoto treaty requires “nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent by 2012. For bigger industrial nations, that involves a 15 percent cut.”