In a June 6 report on President Bush's meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel at the G-8 summit, KDVR Fox 31 co-anchor Deborah Takahara reported that Bush said he is “eager to hammer out an agreement to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol [on global warming].” Takahara's report observed that “the two leaders appear divided on the need for mandatory emissions reduction,” which Bush's latest proposal “leaves ... out.” But it omitted the widespread criticism that Bush's plan regarding greenhouse gas emissions has received from U.S. and foreign policymakers, who have cited not only Bush's poor track record on climate change -- including his persistent rejection of Kyoto -- but also his plan's lack of substance.

From the June 6 broadcast of KDVR Fox 31's News at Nine O'Clock:

TAKAHARA [co-anchor]: The president says he's willing to work with Germany on global warming. Mr. Bush met with the German chancellor as the two prepared for the G-8 summit. He says he's eager to hammer out an agreement to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

BUSH [video clip]: -- also come with a strong desire to work with you on a post-Kyoto agreement about how we can achieve major objectives. One, of course, is the reduction of greenhouse gases.

TAKAHARA: But the two leaders appear divided on the need for mandatory emissions reduction. The president's latest proposal leaves those out. The G-8 summit did start tonight.

In contrast to Fox 31's report that Bush is “eager” to reach a new “agreement,” the Chicago Tribune noted on June 1 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 more than 150 other nations. The 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.”

Similarly, as Colorado Media Matters noted, the White House strategy on climate change announced in advance of Bush's arrival at the G-8 summit was greeted with widespread skepticism, as experts observed that his plan was “vague by the standards of European leaders and is likely to disappoint those ready to commit to specifics this year.” The Associated Press reported on May 31 that critics said Bush's proposal, marked by “unenforceable targets,” was so lacking in substance that some accused him of “trying to avoid taking action until he leaves office.” 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 AP similarly reported on June 6 that despite Bush's positive tone, "[t]he gap between the United States and other industrialized [nations] was underscored ... by Bush's top environmental advisor [Jim Connaughton]," whom the AP noted, “called it significant that the summit leaders would merely agree to keep talking about the issue.” The AP further reported:

Both President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have shown optimism about reaching agreement on climate change, but leaders gathered here Wednesday are farther apart then they like to acknowledge.

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Some said Bush's pre-summit announcement undermined Merkel with something that amounted to little more than kicking the problem down the road for an uncertain result.

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Charles Kupchan, director of Europe studies for the Council on Foreign Relations, called Bush's climate approach “more of a palliative to the Europeans rather than a serious step forward.”

“It's very difficult for me to believe that Bush, when he comes to the end of his administration, is going to sign off on some deal that he wasn't willing to sign off on before,” he said.