Bush 'backtracks' on emissions pledge

Bush cited legal grounds for the decision

By Paul Reynolds in Washington

In an apparent reversal of a campaign pledge, US President George W Bush has indicated that his administration will not be seeking to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the so-called greenhouse gases, from power stations.

In a letter to Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, Mr Bush says that the administration's decision was prompted by concerns that such action would aggravate the energy crisis faced in particular by the far West of the United States.

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Mr Bush seeks justification on technical grounds, noting that the Clean Air Act does not class carbon dioxide as a pollutant.

The letter says that three other substances, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury will be controlled as part of a balanced policy.

During the campaign, Mr Bush had indicated that carbon dioxide would be included in restrictions as well.

Policy review

The change of position has resulted from a review of policy being led by the Vice President Dick Cheney who has told congressional leaders that the campaign pledge was in error because it had assumed that carbon dioxide was a pollutant.

Mr Cheney described Christie Whitman, the head of the Environemtal Protection Agency, as a good soldier for recently saying that regulations on the gas were being considered.

This is now not so.

The letter was released on the same day that the Department of Energy announced its participation in a new institute in the state of Washington to study global warming.