Main focus of Friday, December 1, 2006

Brussels displays firmness on global warming

On Wednesday, November 29th, the Commission delivered its verdict on ten member states' CO2 emission plans for the period between 2008 and 2012. It wants to impose bigger restraints on several countries' emission quotas.

The Economist - United Kingdom

The weekly evaluates Europe's emissions-trading scheme (ETS). "So far the commission has ruled on the plans of only ten of the 25 EU members. Six countries have not yet bothered to file their plans, five months after the supposed deadline; France is promising to resubmit its proposals. Nor is the commission's verdict the final word. There will be months of revisions and haggling before the shape of the second phase is clear. Nonetheless Kate Hampton of Climate Change Capital, an investment bank that specialises in emissions trading, argues that the commission has at least shown that it is determined to be a 'credible regulator'. That might encourage other countries to imitate the ETS, or even to join it. ... Indeed, Europe's example might just pave the way for a worthy successor to Kyoto, which expires in 2012 - so long as the commission manages to keep Europe's recalcitrant governments in line." (01/12/2006)

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Der Tagesspiegel - Germany

"Industrial lobbies everywhere are fighting for the last drop of CO2 emissions. And everywhere they are threatened with job loss, lack of energy security and investor boycotts," writes Dagmar Dehmer. "The EU Commission's decision to reject national emissions apportionment is a defeat for the German government. In January 2007, Germany assumes presidency of the European Union and has already declared its intention to make climate protection a major topic. The 'pink slip from Brussels' undermines Germany's credibility. Now, Germany is in a weak position in future international talks on climate protection, because, according to the EU-Commission, it didn't do its homework." (01/12/2006)

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All available articles from » Dagmar Dehmer

Le Monde - France

The daily commentates in its editorial the sudden withdrawal of the French caps proposals. "Just as protection of the environment has slipped onto the presidential campaign's menu, Jacques Chirac is overflowing with virtuous declarations in the domain. Admirable intentions! But Paris took the risk, on Wednesday, November 29th, of being seen as the odd one out in the EU. ... Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment, gave France two weeks to present him with a scheme conforming to his demands. ... In it's defence, France can stress that it is no the only one struggling against the Brussels authorities who are incidentally demonstrating their ability to resist the pressure of the business world. Italy, Spain, Austria, The Czech Republic, Hungary and Denmark have all failed to present Brussels with any scheme and are undergoing infraction procedures." (01/12/2006)

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La Libre Belgique - Belgium

A group of five Belgian climatologists and physicists have co-signed an article in which they denounce "climatic disinformation". According to them, "radically reducing the emission of green-house gases does not require an economic collapse but a profound adaptation of the economy and society. ... If there are questions to be debated, it is largely on these necessary changes that they we should focus. Can we reduce emissions sufficiently by principally using new technology? ... How to contribute to clean energy consummation in developing countries? How to build fair trade at the service of everyone's well-being? Is Europe doing enough to walk its talk? So many ethical factors are at stake, political choices to be made and crucial questions to be treated in the pursuit of human development in the 21st century, not in an alarmist manner, but resolutely." (29/11/2006)

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