World Business Council for Sustainable Development, booth at Palais de Congres

Today at the Climate Summit in Montreal, members of the Durban Group and the Environmental Justice Climate Change Initiative met with the Deputy of the US Delegation. (Harlan Watson, the Head of the Delegation sent his regrets and did not attend the :30 minute meeting).

When pressed on its commitment to meaningfully addressing climate change, the Deputy noted that the US Administration "did not want to participate in another Kyoto like process" that had "timetables and committments"

He further added that the "principal way" the US was addressing climate change was through "a number of voluntary programs." The Deputy stated that while in principle the US is committed to addressing climate justice issues, at present there is no one on the US Delegation that specifically has this task.

Meanwhile today the Montreal Gazette reports that one of the reason the US is reluctant to act seriously on climate change is that it is under control of the carbon lobby.