Gazette baselessly accused Pres. Clinton of “hypocrisy” on global warming initiative

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

An editorial by The Gazette of Colorado Springs dismissed as “hypocrisy” an initiative by former President Bill Clinton to combat global warming, stating that Clinton “himself declined to push [Kyoto Protocol] treaty ratification” while he was president. But the reason Clinton did not push for a ratification vote on the Kyoto Protocol was because the Senate made it clear that such a vote would fail.

In an August 3 editorial, The Gazette of Colorado Springs dismissed as “hypocrisy” an initiative by former President Bill Clinton to ally his William J. Clinton Foundation with some of the world's major cities to combat global warming, stating that Clinton “himself declined to push [Kyoto] treaty ratification” while he was president. However, as Media Matters for America noted, the reason Clinton did not push for a ratification vote on the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was that the Senate had made clear that such a vote would fail.

On July 25, 1997, in anticipation of the major provisions that the Kyoto Protocol would in fact include, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution (S.Res.98) expressing the body's opposition. The Washington Post reported on December 11, 1997, that, in advance of the finalization of the treaty, then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) stated that the Senate would not ratify what he called “a flawed climate change treaty.” At a Republican press conference to announce opposition to the treaty, then-Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) declared, “It's dead on arrival.” Ratification of the treaty would have required two-thirds approval of the Senate. The Clinton administration signed the Kyoto Protocol on November 12, 1998; the Bush administration withdrew the United States from the protocol in 2001.

On August 1, the William J. Clinton Foundation announced the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a foundation effort “dedicated to making a difference in the fight against climate change in practical and measurable ways.” The CCI's first project, also launched that day, is a partnership with the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, which the Associated Press identified as “an alliance of Rome, London, Mexico City, Los Angeles and other cities that have pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Gazette's editorial criticized California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) for agreeing with British Prime Minister Tony Blair “to become allies in the war against global warming” and wondered if it was “time California seceded from the union.”

From the August 3 Gazette editorial “Grand gestures and global warming”:

Schwarzenegger, if he was serious, could immediately slash so-called greenhouse gases by idling some power plants in the Golden State. But since La-La Land is barely getting by on the electricity it generates, he settled for empty gestures instead. Once an actor, always an actor, apparently.

It's all part of an effort to shame the Bush administration for not agreeing to abide by Kyoto treaty emissions caps that would have a negligible long-term effect on climate change, but do immediate damage to the U.S. economy -- just as it was Tuesday, when former President Bill Clinton (who himself declined to push treaty ratification) joined with the mayors of some of the world's major cities in another effort to halt global warming. But what's shameful is the hypocrisy.

Most of the countries that affixed their names to the Kyoto accords are falling far short of meeting the unrealistically strict, economy-killing mandates (including Great Britain), so we don't expect states or cities to fare better. But it's really all for show, anyway. Just don't expect us to applaud.