The U.S. Department of the Interior has agreed to list the polar bear as a threatened species but not before the Secretary responsible for the decision complained of the law's inflexibility.
The US Department of the Interior has agreed to list the polar bear as a "threatened" species. Photo: Polar Bear. Credit: mape_s/flickr
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne agreed to list the species as "threatened" because of the diminishing areas of sea ice in its Arctic habitat however said that the ruling should not be misused to regulate global climate change.
"While the legal standards under the Endangered Species Act compel me to list the polar bear as threatened, I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting," he said.
"Listing the polar bear as threatened can reduce avoidable losses of polar bears. But it should not open the door to use of the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants, and other sources," said Kempthorne.
"That would be a wholly inappropriate use of the ESA law. The ESA is not the right tool to set U.S. climate policy."
The Secretary, who had earlier in his career criticised the Endangered Species Act, according to the New York Times, added: "any real solution requires action by all major economies for it to be effective."
Experts have estimated the polar bear population in the Arctic to be between 20,000 and 25,000 however expect this to decline over the next 50 years as sea ice continues to melt.
Despite the global warming caveats, animal protection agencies supported the decision.
"Today's decision is a tremendous victory for one of the world's most iconic and charismatic animals," said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund US on the group's Web site. "The other big winner today is sound science, which has clearly trumped politics, providing polar bears a new lease on life."
The Department had been under pressure from a court decision to reach a decision on the listing before Thursday.
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