Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 18:05:46 -0400 (EDT) To: letters@nytimes.com Subject: China, India, and the Kyoto Protocol In today's issue [Bush Calls for Global Goals for Emissions, By David Stout and Brian Knowlton, NYTimes May 31, 2007] you state that "Mr. Bush has said he opposes it [the Kyoto Protocol] because China and India have not signed it..." This is incorrect. China and India have signed the protocol, and so far as I know, President Bush has never claimed otherwise. Some, including Mr. Bush, make the objection that China, India, and some other developing countries are not called upon under the protocol to constrain their CO2 emissions before it expires in 2012. The reason for this is China and India are both countries that today have lower total CO2 emissions than the US far lower emissions per capita, and an even smaller part of total historical emissions. Those who drafted the protocol thought it unfair to ask poor countries that don't bear the responsibility for the current greenhouse issue to start the process of correcting it. It is disappointing to see the NY Times mistake these elementary facts. - Mitch