Bush: Climate Action Means Unfair Economic Burden on Americans

In his response to the Supreme Court ruling, President Bush framed any policy action in familiar terms, emphasizing the “unfair economic burden” placed on the U.S. by any “cap and trade” emissions cuts.

The decision (of) the Supreme Court we take very seriously. It’s the new law of the land,” Bush told reporters. He insisted that “I’ve taken this issue very seriously. I have said that it is a serious problem. I recognize that man is contributing greenhouse gases.”

But Bush argued that “anything that happens cannot hurt economic growth. I care about the working people of the country but also because in order to solve the greenhouse gas issue over a longer period of time, it’s going to require new technologies, which tend to be expensive.”

Bush said that “whatever we do, it must be in concert with what happens internationally. Because we could pass any number of measures that are now being discussed in the Congress, but unless there is an accord with China, China will produce greenhouse gases that will offset anything we do in a brief period of time. He added that it was key to ensure that China and India, are a part of “a rational solution.”