EMERSON TO ATTEND GLOBAL WARMING CONFERENCE

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, today for a weeklong conference on global warming.

Emerson will be a member a bipartisan congressional delegation that will attend the conference. More than 168 nations will be represented at the conference, which will discuss efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions as outlined at the 1997 conference in Kyoto, Japan.

The congressional delegation will be there to observe the discussions and offer advice to U.S. negotiators. The delegation includes 10 House members. About five or six senators also are expected to participate, Emerson said.

Emerson, who attended the Kyoto conference, is the lone member of the House Agriculture Committee and the only woman in the delegation scheduled to attend the talks in Argentina. She also is the only member of Congress from Missouri who will be observing the talks.

Emerson has been a vocal critic of the plan to restrict U.S. emissions while allowing developing countries to exceed the limits.

"Last year I was really saddened to see the U.S. negotiators from the current administration cave in to countries who never plan to sign this agreement," she said. "The administration gave away the store, and that is simply wrong."

This year's talks will focus on emission trading, a plan that would allow one country to exceed emission limits when counterbalanced by another country whose emissions are below the limits.

Vice President Al Gore is once again expected to lead the U.S. negotiators.

Despite the lack of support in Congress for the Kyoto Treaty, the Clinton administration continues to make plans to restrict emission of greenhouse gasses in the United States through administrative regulations that would be issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, Emerson said.

"This could have a devastating impact on not only our district but the whole state," the Cape Girardeau Republican said.