Main focus of Friday, February 2, 2007

Acting against climate change

According to the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), due to be made public this Friday, February 2nd, global warming is essentially due to human activity. The press wonders whether the international community is ready to really take up the struggle against this phenomenon.

Le Soir - Belgium

"May the bell tolled by the world's scientific upper crust this Friday [February 2nd] in Paris, finally convince citizens and decision-makers to act", urges the editorialist Christophe Schoune. "Is ecological governance necessary to stop our fate from rapidly resembling that of the dinosaurs ? The idea of a UN environmental organisation, put back on the drawing board by the president Jacques Chirac and Europe, has the advantage of being coherent and efficient (on paper). But the initiative, that does little to reassure southern countries, is not very likely to succeed in the short term, while the question of global warming requires immediate answers. Two decades is the time remaining for humanity's boat to radically change its course and transform its modes of production and consumption." (02/02/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Environmental Policy, » Global
All available articles from » Christophe Schoune

Vasabladet - Finland

"The climate is the prototype of a chaotic system and therefore highly unpredictable. Nonetheless, the methods for predicting changes have been continually refined, and are now much more reliable than they used to be," Stig Nygard explains as background to the UN climate report. He makes the following critique: "According to report, there is a 95 percent probability that the rise in temperatures over the past few decades is the result of greenhouse gas emissions... However, instead of taking appropriate measures, people see emissions trading as a chance to continue as before. According to this strategy, the country that is the last to give up fossil fuels will come out winning. Nothing can be more wrong." (02/02/2007)

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All available articles from » Stig Nygard

Dagens Nyheter - Sweden

In view of the results of the UN report on global warning, the newspaper calls for a gradual reduction of global oil consumption and greater emphasis on coal and nuclear power: "Of course it's important to save energy – if possible without negative repercussions. And of course it's important to develop alternative energy sources. But it's virtually impossible to imagine a future without coal and nuclear power. The 'principle of caution' applies not only to the environmental side of the issue, but also to the economy... What we urgently need is international agreements, in particular for taxing carbon dioxide emissions, and also more technical innovation. The EU is on the right path, and Sweden is without doubt the only country to have broken the correlation between economic growth and increased emissions of greenhouse gases." (02/02/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » Global

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

"Modern environmental protection is a European invention," writes Nikolas Busse. "No other group of states has been quicker or more committed to achieving a global agreement for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And even today, it's the EU member states that bear the greatest brunt for implementing the measures stipulated in the Kyoto protocol – the key international agreement for fighting climate change.... The main problem for Europeans is the question of what will happen after 2012. There is still no follow-on agreement for after the Kyoto Protocol expires. The different delegations at the most recent climate summit in Nairobi last November couldn't agree on when to begin negotiations for a new protocol. In particular the developing nations appear reluctant to have restrictions on emissions imposed on them... This is why the European Commission has proposed a strategy for Europe alone for the period after 2012." (02/02/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » Global
All available articles from » Nikolas Busse

Les Echos - France

The editorialist Philippe Escande recalls that "the combustion of fossil fuels represents almost 70 % of green-house gas emissions. If we want to act efficiently against the global warming of the planet, then it is imperative that we consume a lot less." But a reduction of global consumption can only be achieved by dealing with the problem of "geographical inequality. What would be the point of Europe going to battle alone, other than easing its conscience ? The necessity of global governance is resurfacing with Jacques Chirac acting as its most zealous promoter. Its effect will essentially be psychological. All will eventually depend, as usual, on the will of the world's two giants, the United States and China, to subscribe to the movement and thus transform the utopia into a reality of durable economy. Some signs are showing today that not all hope is lost and that, over there too, new generations are making themselves heard." (02/02/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » Global
All available articles from » Philippe Escande

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