Main focus of Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The dispute over environmental policy

Political and industrial solutions to tackle climate changes still have to be found. The European Commission failed to reach consensus on its awaited legal framework for a pan-European reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Newspapers agree on the need for business incentives to protect the environment.

taz - Germany

Daniela Weingärtner is disappointed that the European Commission failed to reach a consensus on the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. "President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso is acting like a kid who's afraid of going to the dentist. But next week he'll have to take a stance. To keep trouble to a minimum, he'll push for a vaguely formulated statement on environmental protection which leaves governments with a number of alternatives... It's a pity that this great opportunity is being wasted. Having declared her commitment to environmental protection, Angela Merkel would have been just the person to get a legal framework for the gradual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions underway. As the neutral leader of negotiations in her role as president of the European Union until the end of June, she should have given the interests of German companies like Mercedes, Porsche and BMW lower priority." (24/01/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Environmental Policy, » Corporations, » Europe
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Hufvudstadsbladet - Finland

US President George W. Bush has accused aa number of US companies of not taking ckimate change seriously enough. Björn Sundell welcomes the président's words and hopes there will be more inititatives of this type at the World Economic Forum beginning in Davos today. Organisers are already describing the Forum as the "greenest" yet. "There are still heads of big industry who express doubts about mankind's influence on the climate, and although they are now less vocal in their opposition to this thesis, companies like Exxon, for example, still remain sceptical. Nonetheless, a growing number of industry bosses now perceive climate change as a threat – and as a business opportunity. This threat demands coordinated action at a global level. The development of new products and solutions that meet the tougher requirements also represents an opportunity. The market rewards those who come first, not those who lag behind." (24/01/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Corporations, » Global
All available articles from » Björn Sundell

Financial Times - United Kingdom

"Under Europe's current carbon trading scheme, companies that undertake projects to capture and store CO2 receive no credit for the emissions. That must change", comments Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell. "Public funding would also help to make this technology more viable. Unless governments and industry work more closely together, there will be little incentive to undertake projects - and the practice of capturing carbon will likely develop at a crawl. Biofuels made from plants and organic waste also have the potential to lower transport emissions. Today, however, many are made from food crops ... that require lots of energy to produce ... At Shell we focus on second or even third-generation biofuels that squeeze more litres out of fewer acres. We believe that laws to promote the use of biofuels should reward ones that deliver the most CO2 savings and that reduce costs." (24/01/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » Corporations, » Europe
All available articles from » Jeroen van der Veer

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