Blair misreads Bush on climate change

Once again, a somewhat gullible Tony Blair has learned that the U.S. isn't serious about tackling the problem of climate change:

The US has dismissed a suggestion from UK Prime Minister Tony Blair that it may be prepared to sign up to binding targets to tackle climate change.

Speaking at UN climate talks in Canada, the US chief negotiator said his nation would not enter talks about fixed curbs on emissions of greenhouse gases.

Mr Blair told UK business leaders on Tuesday that he believed all major nations would support new targets.

The Kyoto Protocol, the current global climate agreement, will expire in 2012.

I know, this isn't exactly news. The Bush Administration won't do anything that could challenge the business interests that support it, and, beyond that, it's not even clear that high-ranking officials, including the president himself, even believe that climate change is a reality (let alone a real problem that ought to be dealt with in a serious, concerted way).

Bush touts his own meager coalition of the willing in Iraq (hello, Mongolia!), but he won't do anything to support the truly international and almost universal coalition of the willing on climate change.

Hasn't Blair learned his lesson? Bush is all take and no give, all faith and no reason. Blair at least spends much of his time living and governing in reality. Bush closed himself off from reality long ago.

(I previously wrote about Bush, Blair, and climate change here.)