ABSTRACT
Beginning with the Presidency of George Bush, there was a noticeable and historically significant shift in US government policy on issues of environment and international equity. The US government has in recent years come to accept that international equity must be given serious consideration in global environmental politics. Many observers interested in international equity hoped the US would be more forthright in taking on its fair share of the climate change burden. In the case of the climate change deliberations, during the prepcoms the United States was the only industrialized country refusing to negotiate targets and timetables for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. On climate change, the Clinton administration promptly committed the United States to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. It is worth citing some senators' comments to demonstrate that the US Senate accepted the fundamental provisions of the Climate Change Convention and the common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) principle.
