California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger returned somewhat to the Republican fold Wednesday, praising President Bush for acknowledging that the nation and world have a climate change problem. But he reminded the president he has now also said the nation has a responsibility to do something to help fix the problem.

Schwarzenegger said the White House needs to go one step farther — “the time for real action is now.”

“Targets for reduction are important, but I’d like to see the federal government follow the lead many states have taken on this issue and approve California’s request for a waiver that would enable 17 states to clean their own air of greenhouse gases [GHG],” the governor said.

Schwarzenegger quibbled with the president’s call for goals starting at 2025 levels (see Daily GPI, April 17), noting that his state has set a goal by 2020 of getting GHG emission levels back to 1990 levels.

“I am glad that we all recognize the very serious threat in front of us — what we need now is the sense of urgency to match that threat,” Schwarzenegger said.

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