KYOTO TARGETS UNLIKELY TO BE MET

The Guardian, 18 June 2005

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John Vidal, environment editor

Europe is failing to tackle climate change, putting further pressure on
Tony Blair to come up with a fresh initiative at the G8 summit and
embarrassing the European commission, which is floundering over budget
cuts and the constitution treaty.

The latest figures for Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions, seen by the
Guardian but not due to be released until next week, show that the 15
countries who were EU members in 2003 increased their overall emissions
by 1.1% in the year up to 2004.

Under the Kyoto agreement, which came into force earlier this year, EU
countries must reduce emissions by 8% by 2012 - something which looks
increasingly unlikely.  Figures from the European Environment Agency
show that only France, Germany, Sweden and the UK have any hope of
cutting their energy use in time to meet their targets and that most
countries are now falling well behind.

They also show that Britain increased its total emissions more than all
other EU countries except Italy and Finland in 2003/4. The 1.3%
increase, equivalent to 7.4m tonnes of carbon, was mainly because people
drove more.  Britain is expected to only just fulfill its Kyoto
obligations but not the government’s more ambitious target of a 20% cut
in emissions by 2010.

In the EU only Ireland and Portugal have cut their emissions. But both
are expected to exceed their future targets following years of economic
expansion. Finland, Denmark and Austria burned more fossil fuels than in
previous years.

Yesterday, the commission played down the figures, blaming a harsh
winter for the increases.  “It was very cold across Europe. The number
of days that people needed to hear (sic) their homes was much higher,”
said a spokeswoman.

But the figures are embarrassing for Britain, which is chairing the G8’s
discussions on climate change and assumes the presidency of the EU in
less than two weeks. The statistics may weaken Britain’s negotiating
hand with the US by suggesting that wealthy countries’ policies to curb
the use of fossil fuels are not working.

One reason the US gave for not joining the Kyoto treaty was because the
US administration said it would not deliver the cuts needed to avoid
serious climate change.

Chris Green, the Lib Dems’ environment spokesman in the European
parliament, said: “The upward trend in European emissions is very
worrying. These figures put in doubt the EU’s commitment to fighting
climate change.

”The commission must seize the initiative and give a stronger lead.”

Catherine Pearce, global climate change spokeswoman for Friends of the
Earth, said: “If Britain and the rest of Europe cannot get it right,
then how can anyone expect the US or developing countries to?”