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Frank E. Loy Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs and Head of the U.S. Delegation Statement to the Sixth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 6) The Hague, Netherlands, November 21, 2000

As prepared for delivery

I am deeply honored to be here in The Hague. It is fitting that we are meeting in Holland -- this land long known for its great artists, such as Rembrandt, van Gogh, and Mondrian -- because this week it is time for us to finish painting our masterpiece. Its broad brush strokes were done in Kyoto and Buenos Aires. Here in The Hague we must fill in with the fine brush strokes that will make our painting stand the test of time.

The United States is fully committed to doing its part to meet the challenge of climate change. At home, we continue to take important, tangible steps that are yielding real results. Indeed, we are challenging the historic link between economic growth and emissions growth. In each of the past 2 years, the U.S. gross domestic product has grown by more than 4% -- but our emissions have grown by less than 1%. This emissions growth rate is, in fact, lower than that of most European nations.

But our focus here should not be the past, or the amount of progress we've made to date -- it should, instead, be how together we can ensure the most progress in the years ahead. Success at this conference will require all nations to take a more pragmatic, less dogmatic, approach. Over the past several months -- and, indeed, over the past 10 days -- the United States has demonstrated real flexibility across a range of issues. We stand ready to make reasonable compromises. We are waiting for others to do so as well. And time is growing short.

While we are willing to be flexible in our positions, we will not sacrifice our core principles. The agreement we forge must be cost-effective and have real environmental integrity.

Nor are we willing to undermine the innovative features of the Kyoto Protocol that are essential to achieving those goals. Let us not forget that we agreed in Kyoto on the use of emissions trading -- because it is a proven way to spur innovation and produce cost-effective emissions cuts. We agreed in Kyoto to take sinks into account -- because they are in fact a critical component of our climate system. We agreed in Kyoto to create a robust Clean Development Mechanism -- because as we fight climate change we must also assist developing countries along the path to sustainable development.

These are not loopholes or 11th-hour gimmicks. Rather, they are integral features of a comprehensive framework that reflects the physical, political, and economic realities that we face. We must agree on ways to make these mechanisms work not merely to remain faithful to the Kyoto bargain -- but because without them we and other nations will not be able to fulfill our Kyoto commitments; let alone our responsibility to the Earth and to future generations.

The United States knows from experience that cost-effectiveness and environmental integrity are not -- as some would have it -- competing interests, forever in conflict. Rather they are consistent and complementary.

The United States embraces environmental integrity -- not in a narrow sense, but in the broadest meaning of that term. That is why, for example, the United States has been a leader in advocating an airtight accounting system for measuring and monitoring emissions. That is why the United States supports a strong Kyoto compliance regime -- one with binding consequences and strong incentives.

Our commitment to environmental integrity is also an important reason why we devote substantial resources -- indeed, more than $100 million a year -- to assist developing countries achieve their sustainable development goals while also addressing climate change. And we stand ready to fully engage as we consider new means and methods to address these continuing needs.

Finally, let me reiterate: this conference must focus on the practical -- in the best sense of that word. We must come together as independent, sovereign nations to forge a system for fighting global warming that actually works. Otherwise, we will be no more than Hans Brinker, putting our fingers in the dike to hold back the rising seas that scientists tell us are in our future. If the nations at this conference focus on ideological or political purity, I predict we will fail. If we focus on building a practical, real-world system that actually works, I predict we will succeed. And we will dramatically improve the Protocol's chances for ratification.

Not far from here one can take a walk through Madurodam, where Amsterdam and other Dutch cities are replicated in minute detail, right down to their cheese markets and canal houses. It gives you a different perspective; it gives you the big picture. Let this conference take heart. Let us keep our focus on the big picture. Let us rise up to meet this great challenge that history has laid at our doorstep. Science demands it; our planet and its people deserve it. So let's get to work. Thank you very much.

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