U.S. Holds Out on Global Warming, Rain Forest Action : Environment: Washington finds itself increasingly isolated in opposing concrete recommendations on two key issues.

As the world’s leading industrial democracies prepared to end their annual economic summit here today, the United States appeared increasingly isolated from its chief economic allies on how to confront two major environmental crises.

With the seven countries struggling to agree on the final communique, sources said the United States was the lone holdout opposing concrete recommendations on combating global warming and saving endangered Amazon rain forests that play a critical role in maintaining the Earth’s atmosphere.

“The United States wants to avoid anything other than generalization,” said one European official who asked not to be named. “They’re isolated on that. Everybody else wants to make a commitment.”

Nor was all the criticism leveled privately. In a rare public rebuke for a diplomatic gathering such as this, some European officials asserted that the largest consumer of the world’s resources should make a more serious effort to solve the planet’s ecological problems.

One British official said his country was weary of trying to work out a compromise between the United States and other countries on the issue.

“It’s pretty difficult to build a bridge if one of the parties doesn’t understand there’s a gap,” the official said, speaking on condition that he not be identified.

Noting that the United States is the only major industrial nation that has not committed itself to specific targets for curbing its carbon dioxide emissions, Gen. Laurens Brinkhorst, environmental director of the European Commission, complained: “How can one expect the developing countries to enter into a binding agreement if the biggest energy user will not?”

Brinkhorst said he would like to see “a more forthcoming attitude” from Washington on the question of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas considered the chief cause of global warming.

However, he conceded, “I know it’s a damned difficult issue for the United States” because its energy-consuming habits are so ingrained.

The Bush Administration has argued that action must come only after experts gain a better understanding of the trade-off between the costs and benefits of carbon dioxide reduction. U.S. officials also say that the effects of other “greenhouse gases” should be taken into account as part of a comprehensive strategy.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, in one of his few comments on the issue, said, “We take our environmental commitment seriously.”

U.S. officials also circulated a report on actions taken by the United States in the last year to implement the promise by the seven nations at last year’s economic summit to “pass on to future generations an environment whose health, beauty and economic potential are not threatened.”

A coalition of environmental groups challenged its accuracy and called it “a pathetic statement.”

Transatlantic friction over global warming began to build last month, when British Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine traveled to Washington to try to persuade the Bush Administration to take a tougher stand on carbon dioxide emissions.

Not only was Heseltine rebuffed, he later learned that top Administration officials had made derogatory comments about him at a White House meeting. According to one British official, Heseltine discovered that he had been described as “a free-lancer” whose views did not represent those of his government.

Heseltine sought to correct that impression in a harshly worded letter to White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, one of the officials with whom he had met.

British Prime Minister John Major further clarified his government’s stand in a speech last week. Major pointedly noted that the United States produces almost twice as much carbon dioxide as the 12-nation European Community, even though its population is nearly 100 million less.

“The world looks to (the United States) for decisive leadership on this issue, as on others,” Major said.

BACKGROUND

Brazil, which has the world’s largest remaining tropical forests, also has the largest area of annual deforestation. These tropical forests help to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Brazilian government, the World Bank and the European Community drew up a plan to protect these fragile areas. It asks the Group of Seven to finance almost all of the $1.57 billion needed for a five-year program to prevent slash-and-burn farming, mass logging or hunting of rare species.