The Bush administration said yesterday it plans to revamp the Endangered Species Act (ESA) so that it cannot be used as a tool to combat global climate change.
The proposal, which does not have to be approved by Congress, would bar federal agencies from assessing greenhouse gas emissions from projects that may affect species and habitats.
The administration was upset over a recent push to list polar bears as endangered species due to habitat loss resulting from climate change. Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne approved the listing of the polar bear as threatened, but promised to take regulatory action to make sure the listing was not "abused to make global warming policies."
If these changes are enacted they will result in the biggest overhaul of the ESA in the last 20 years and complete a Republican agenda that has been unable to pass the legislative process. Projects, funded, built or authorized by the government would no longer have to undergo the same environmental reviews meant to protect wildlife and habitats.
Thousands of these reveiws take place each year. Developers and many Republicans say they are needless delays; environmentalists say they are crucial for protecting biodiversity.
"If adopted, these changes would seriously weaken the safety net of habitat protections that we have relied upon to protect and recover endangered fish, wildlife and plants for the past 35 years," said John Kostyack, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming initiative.
"The new rules take decision-making on endangered species listings out of the hands of scientists and wildlife professionals at agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and instead put those decisions in the hands of agencies working on projects that may be adversely affected by a listing," added Sierra Club director Carl Pope.
