EU s tragic flaw
fresh data released by the European Environment Agency (eea) indicate that meeting greenhouse gas (ghg) emission cuts set by the Kyoto Protocol (kp), the global treaty to fight climate change, might be an uphill task for the European Union (eu) nations. Their ghg emissions rose by 1.3 per cent from 2002 to 2003, as they released an extra 53 million tonnes of these harmful gases. This marked a disappointing turnaround, as ghg levels had fallen 0.5 per cent in 2002, compared to 2001. Under kp, the eu nations have to reduce eight per cent of their 1990 emission levels by 2012.
The release of the eea report on June 21, 2005, spells more trouble for the eu. Its 2003 emissions were just 1.7 per cent lower than the 1990 levels; the average reduction in the five-year period (1999-2003) was 2.9 per cent of the base level. International environmental group Friends of the Earth (foe) estimates that the emissions should have dropped by 5.2 per cent in 2003. "The figures are shocking, as they indicate that Europe may not meet its obligation to limit climate change,' said foe Europe's Jan Kowalzig. "The blame goes mostly to national economy and industry ministers, who block any attempts to introduce mandatory targets for renewable energies, energy efficiency rules or fuel consumption standards for cars.'
Poor defence The emission hike is believed to have been triggered mainly by the greater use of power from coal-fired power stations: 2003 witnessed a five per cent increase in electricity generation from such plants by the 15 pre-2004 eu member states. "It is difficult to say whether this rise will be repeated in more recent or future emissions,' says Andreas Barkman of eea , the report's co-author. But European commissioner for environment Stavros Dimas prefers to believe the outpour was triggered by a more temporary factor: "The increase is partly due to the weather