Singapore PM calls for US leadership on climate

He expects the next leader to take a different stance on environment
Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times 10 Sep 08;

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong expects that the next United States president will be friendlier towards the environment than the current administration in power.

Both nominees, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, he told business leaders at a conference, would take positions that were different from President George W. Bush, whose administration has resisted calls for binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

His take on future US environmental policy came as he suggested that Washington take the lead on climate change.

But he said there was a moral argument, not an economic one, for why it needed to do so.

The US generates the most emissions per capita. And together with other developed nations, it contributed significantly to the state of the environment today.

'Now everybody has to be part of the solution,' he said at the Forbes Global CEO Conference last night.

'But I think America has to move first. And that's something which the next president will have to look at very seriously... I think both McCain and Obama will take positions different from Bush.'

Mr Lee acknowledged that the climate change problem was a tricky one for leaders. It is a long-term issue, yet societies were not set up to deal with problems 'that have 100-year time spans'.

And secondly, solutions were neither cheap nor painless. 'The question is, what do you do with a problem with a long timeframe...but whose remedies also take 30 or 100 years to get moving, and to trade that off against the well-being and livelihoods of people in poverty and who need development and incomes and better lives today?'

He said even European governments, which are the most serious about environmental issues, did not have electorates that would support such measures.

'You have to be prepared to consider nuclear. You have to change your lifestyles, you have to drive a lot less, you will be a lot poorer. It is not a matter of 1 or 2 per cent of GDP, it is a very fundamental change in the way whole societies are structured,' he explained.

The question on the environment was among 14 he fielded before dinner at Sentosa Cove. These included issues ranging from the situations in Iran and Georgia, to inflation and the state of the global economy.

All but two of them came from the dialogue's moderator, publishing tycoon Steve Forbes, who began by asking what Mr Lee wished for in the next US president.

Mr Lee cited four things: support for free trade, a good relationship with China, involvement with the rest of Asia, and a 'consistency of purpose' in the fight against terrorism.

On how the US could be more engaged with the rest of Asia, one example he cited was how the US is regarded by some Muslim countries because of its actions in the Middle-East.

'They see you in the Middle East as not having an even-handed approach, particularly on the Israel-Palestinian issue... The perception is strong. And if you can get that issue off the boil and be seen to be more detached and more equal towards both parties, I think it will be a great help to you in this region and elsewhere.'