Castro Lambasts Bush For Opposing G-8 Agenda Item On Global Warming

Wednesday, May 30th 2007, 7:00 am

By: News On 6

HAVANA (AP) _ Convalescing Fidel Castro lambasted President Bush on Tuesday for opposing the European Union's goal for an agreement on carbon emissions at next week's Group of Eight summit.

In the latest in what are becoming almost daily opinion pieces called ``Reflections of the Commander in Chief,'' Castro said Bush would be wise to listen to his ally, outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has made global warming a primary focus of his last weeks in office.

The ailing 80-year-old Cuban leader also criticized both Britain and the United States for heavy military expenditures.

``Perhaps someone with one of the new computer programs by Bill Gates could figure out how much the war expenditures have deprived humanity of education, health and culture,'' the essay read.

``George should say what he really thinks at the G-8 meeting, including the subject of the dangers threatening peace and food for human beings,'' Castro added. ``Someone should ask him. And he should not try to escape from the counsel of his friend Blair.''

Germany, which holds the rotating European Union and G-8 presidencies, is proposing a target that would allow global temperatures to increase no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) before being brought back down. Experts have said that means a global reduction in emissions of 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

In Berlin on Tuesday, Bush's environmental adviser James Connaughton told reporters the U.S. opposes the EU's two-degree target. He said the United States does not oppose emission goals, but prefers to focus on specific areas such as reducing gasoline dependence and developing cleaner coal energy.

``The two-degree temperature target is one that the European Union has come to adopt but is not one that any of the other countries is prepared to adopt,'' Connaughton said.

He said the U.S. favors ``setting targets in the context of national circumstances.''

Castro's latest message came a day after his last one, in which the Cuban leader said Bush was waiting for him to die but could not kill his ideas.

Castro has not been seen in public in 10 months and the written opinions he has released since late March seem to be his attempt to have his voice heard in international debate.

The Cuban leader on July 31 announced that he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was stepping aside for his younger brother Raul, the defense minister. Senior Cuban officials have said Castro is on the mend, but his exact ailment and condition remain state secrets.