NEWS OF THE WEEK CLIMATE
TREATY
KYOTO SUCCESS IN JAPAN'S HANDS Japan waffles on whether it will ratify the protocol without U.S.
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APANESE PRIME MINISTER
Junichiro Koizumi has made ambiguous statements about his nation's plans for the Kyoto protocol on global climate change. Since President George W. Bush announced that he was rejecting the protocol, Japan's ratification has become critical to the treaty's future. OnJune 30, in a meeting in the U.S., Koizumi appeared to tell Bush that Japan would not ratify the protocol without U.S. participation. "Presently, I do not have the intention of proceeding without the cooperation of the U.S.," he said. "To the very last moment, I will work with the U.S. in cooperating on environmental issues." The Bush Administration concluded from Koizumi's remarks that Japan shared the U.S.'s negative view of the protocol. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said onJuly 1 that the treaty appeared to be dead and that the Administration would continue to push alternative plans for increased research and voluntary programs on greenhouse gas reductions. "I'm glad to see Japan joining us in taking that position," he said. But after Koizumi met with British Prime MinisterTony Blair on July 2, Koizumi said they had agreed to seek away to bring the U.S. back into the Kyoto protocol. "We agreed that it was important for Japan and Britain to cooperate to find a way to have the U.S. take part," Koizumi said. Japan's support is key to keeping the protocol alive. To come into effect, the pact must be ratified by 55 countries representing 55% of 1990 industrialized world greenhouse gas emissions. US. emissions in 1990 were 36% HTTP://PUBS.ACS.ORG/CEN
of the total; Japan's were about 8%; and the European Union, Russia, Eastern Europe, and Canada accounted for 53%. Without ratification by either the US. or Japan, the treaty is unlikely to meet the 55% target. Japan's contradictions are understandable, says Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Japan wants to see Kyoto go forward. It doesn't want to be blamed for killing it," he says. But at the same time, the US. is Japan's closest ally on the economy and military security, so Japan doesn't want to do anything that angers the U.S., he explains. Apparently, Japan is thinking of suggesting changes in the pro-
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tocol's targets and timetables to make it more acceptable to the U.S. Onjuly 2, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said that Tokyo will step up efforts to urge the Bush Administration to ratify the pact. In the meantime, DOE's Energy Information Administration announced that carbon dioxide emissions by the U.S. arerising.In 2000, U.S. emissions of C 0 2 grew 2.7%, the largest increase since 1996. For the same year, U.K. emissions ofgreenhouse gases fell to a 10-year low-BETTE HILEMAN
Japan's Koizumi (right) wants to support the Kyoto protocol without angering the Bush Administration, which has rejected the treaty.
BUSINESS
Further Turmoil At Hercules ercules' board of directors resolved its dilemma over an unfilled seat on its 12member board by enlarging the board to 14 However, the expanded board does not include former chairman Thomas L Gossage. Since he did not win a board position from shareholders in the May 2U election, Gossage decided he would no longer have any formal association with the company either as an employee or as a consultant, a Hercules spokesman explains. Gossage was going to give up the chairman's role to President and Chief Executive Officer William H. Joyce on July 1. Now Joyce, formerly chairman of Union Carbide, not only will have operating control, but also will lead the effort to sell Hercules—a role Gossage would have continued had he remained. Gossage was among four Hercules directors who stood for reelection at the end of May against a dissident slate submitted by Hercules' largest shareholder, International
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Specialty Products. Three ISP nominees won board seats. Expanding the board to U members accommodates Joyce on the board and also allows a compromise with the election of an ISP nominee, Gloria A. Schaffer,
HERCULES
and a Hercules nominee, Paula A. Sneed. Schaffer is a former Connecticut secretary of state. Sneed is a vice president of Kraft Foods. Right after his election, Joyce announced a plan to reduce costs by $100 million annually by the second quarter of 2002. The company will spend $50 million, some of it on severance pay, to cut areas not critical to meeting customer needs. A Hercules' spokesman says the company has no specific job cut targets. However, the company is likely to redeploy some personnel and hire outside contractors to offer services now managed internally.-MARC REISCH
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