About time, Mr. President

President Bush may have finally decided to set a date for the United States to reduce its growth of greenhouse-gas emissions, but his plan appears too little too late for the rest of the world.

Members of the international community lambasted Bush for his snail-like pace when it comes to addressing climate change. “Losership instead of leadership,” is how the strategy was described by Germany’s environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel (pictured), as reported in The Associated Press.

In a speech released by the White House last week, the president proposed halting the growth of U.S. greenhouse gases by 2025. But critics look back to 2001, when he refused to adopt the Kyoto Protocol.

At the time, Bush claimed the accord’s targets for industrialized nations would devastate the economy and wouldn’t deal with rising economic nations, such as India and China. He also claimed scientists couldn’t predict the risks associated with climate change.