Some thing called the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA) issued a press release today commending George W. Bush for “his leadership in steering the G-8 nations onto the right track in addressing climate change.”

Well, that’s a bit overstated. If Bush steered anything, he steered the G8 toward agreeing on a toothless, actionless, goalless agreement that sounds good, but means little, and away from real progress.

Claude Mandil, executive director of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, told Reuters that given the refusal of the United States to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on curbing air pollution, the G8 “plan” was the best that could be achieved: “Nobody could seriously expect the Kyoto Protocol would be ratified by those who had not ratified Kyoto. No one could seriously expect targets would be set,” Mandil said.

But do the Repugs see it that way? According to the press release, nope:

“President Bush has shown real leadership in steering the G-8 nations onto a path that will protect the environment while boosting the global economy,” said CREA President Italia Federici. “Development of new technologies and new energy sources will create jobs while potentially slowing and eventually reversing global climate trends,” continued Federici.

It has become increasingly apparent that many nations that signed onto the Kyoto Protocol will miss their emission target deadlines. Most, including France, Canada, and Japan, experienced emission increases after adopting the treaty. Some nations, such as Germany, have only been able to reduce emissions by shuttering power plants. While closing facilities may be a way to reduce emissions, it is not good for a nation’s economy.

Yeah, well ALL of the nations that didn’t sign Kyoto missed their non-targets.

All the G8 leaders agreed to last week at their summit in Gleneagles in Scotland was that they recognize climate change requires urgent action, but they set no targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases that cause it.

Not content with such an empty agreement, the wingnuts seized the opportunity to take their rhetoric over the top:

In recent months, more and more scientists have cast doubts on whether or not climate change is man-made. Russian scientists have called the Kyoto Protocol ‘scientifically-ungrounded,’ while the British House of Lords questioned whether scientific reports supporting the Kyoto Protocol were politically motivated.

Decide for yourself here.

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