House approves resolution urging changes to Kyoto Protocol before U.S. ratification

The Utah House on Feb. 18 approved Senate Joint Resolution 9, a measure urging the President of the United States and the U.S. Senate not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change in its present form and asking the state executive branch to refrain from implementing measures until the protocol is amended.

Representative King, speaking for the resolution, said the measure was not a rejection of Kyoto the city or Japanese culture but a caution about the protocol’s structure. "What this does ... is send a message to the President of The United States that we should not sign on to the agreement reached in Kyoto," King said on the floor, arguing that the protocol would hold developed countries to stricter greenhouse-gas reductions and "could mean that we could lose approximately 8,000 jobs to the Utah economy." He urged amendments that would bind developing nations to similar standards before U.S. ratification.

After limited floor discussion and a waived summation, the House recorded a vote of 57 yes and 14 no, carrying the resolution. The resolution sends the Legislature’s concerns to federal leaders and asks the governor to make sure state-level actions are not implemented under the protocol until changes addressing the state's economic concerns are negotiated.

The resolution is a policy statement expressing the state Legislature’s position to federal decisionmakers; it does not change state law but signals legislative priorities regarding federal climate negotiations.