By Nancy Dunne in Washington Published: March 14 2001 00:43GMT | Last Updated: March 14 2001 23:04GMT President George W. Bush is reversing course on a campaign promise to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from electricity plants, a move likely to infuriate environmentalists and America's greener European allies. The about-face comes after the White House decided against overturning some Clinton administration environmental initiatives, prompting speculation that Mr Bush's policies might be greener than expected. In a letter received on Tuesday by Senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, the president said "important new information" had changed his mind about carbon dioxide emissions. This was a reference to a report from the energy department which said caps on carbon dioxide emissions would lead to "a dramatic shift from coal to natural gas for electric power generation and significantly higher electricity prices". Mr Bush said: "At a time when California has already experienced energy shortages and other western states are worried about price and availability of energy this summer, we must be very careful not to take actions that could harm consumers." During the campaign he promised to establish "mandatory reduction targets for emissions of four main pollutants: sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide." Many scientists think carbon dioxide from fossil fuels causes global warming, but Mr Bush said there was an "incomplete state of scientific knowledge of the causes of and solutions to global climate change". Lexi Shultz, a spokesman for the US Public Interest Research Group, said the administration had buckled under pressure from energy lobbyists, rather than concern over rising prices. _______________________________________________ CrashList website: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base
