President George W. Bush is about to announce a significant change in his administration's stance toward global warming, according to a British newspaper citing British government officials.

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Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair talked about climate change before Christmas, according to The Observer, a London newspaper. "There is a feeling that the U.S. President will now agree a cap on emissions in the U.S.," the paper reported.

If true, it would mark the first time that U.S. industry and consumers would be expected to start conserving energy and curbing pollution.

In related news, a group of leading scientists and evangelical Christian leaders said Wednesday they plan to join together to fight global warming.

"Whether God created the Earth in a millisecond or whether it evolved over billions of years, the issue we agree on is that it needs to be cared for today," said Rich Cizik, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 45,000 churches.

Speakers at the Wednesday announcement included megachurch pastor Joel Hunter, who refused to take the leadership of Christian Coalition of America because the organization wouldn't let him expand its agenda to include the environment and poverty.

"The evangelicals have a lot of clout on the conservative side of the political spectrum, and their voice would be a very welcome one," said Jim Presswood, of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Citing positions by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a 2005 statement at the 2005 G8 summit by the Bush administration, the evangelical group declares on its Web site that, "In the face of the breadth and depth of this scientific and governmental concern, only a small percentage of which is noted here, we are convinced that evangelicals must engage this issue without any further lingering over the basic reality of the problem or humanity's responsibility to address it."

"Love of God, love of neighbor, and the demands of stewardship are more than enough reason for evangelical Christians to respond to the climate change problem with moral passion and concrete action," the group's statement said.

To read the full declaration, click here.

Those who have signed the document include:

• Rev. Dr. Leith Anderson, interim president, National Association of Evangelicals.
• Commissioner W. Todd Bassett, national commander, The Salvation Army.
• Rev. Timothy George, Ph.D., executive editor, Christianity Today.
• Rev. David Gushee, professor of moral philosophy, Union University and a columnist for Religion News Service.
• David Neff, editor, Christianity Today.
• Richard Stearns, president of World Vision.
• Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners magazine.
• Rev. Dr. Rick Warren, senior pastor, Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life.
For a full list of the signatories, click here.