Wallström pushes for action on emissions

Date: 14/10/1999

By Gareth Harding

ENVIRONMENT Commissioner Margot Wallström is to launch an action programme to combat climate change early next year as part of her efforts to persuade EU governments to do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

News of the move comes amid warnings from the Commissioner that member states must step up efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases if they are to meet commitments the Union signed up to at the Kyoto conference in 1997.

Wallström told MEPs last week that carbon dioxide emissions had risen steeply and would blow a hole in the EU's legally-binding pledge to reduce levels by 8% by 2012 if they were left unchecked.

The aim of her action plan will be to bring together environmental groups, technical experts and businessmen to discuss practical steps which the European Commission could propose to slash greenhouse gas emissions. Wallström said a central plank of this programme would be to exploit fully the potential offered by new technologies such as clean cars, renewable energy sources and energy-efficient equipment which is about to come onto the market.

She also plans to publish a Green Paper on emissions trading next spring aimed at clearing up the confusion about what role so-called 'flexible mechanisms' can play in meeting Union's targets, as the row continues over the extent to which countries can buy or sell the 'right to pollute'.

The Commission is setting great store by voluntary agreements with firms in the energy, transport and industrial sectors. But its hopes of setting targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from each sector has been shot down in flames by EU governments, which are loathe to commit themselves to binding goals.

EU environment ministers also drew attention to the uphill task the Union faces in meeting its climate change commitments earlier this week. "Much more will be need to be done to meet the Kyoto commitments and to go well beyond them in the longer-term," they warned at their meeting in Luxembourg.

In a statement setting out the Union's approach to the next round of United Nations-sponsored climate change talks, which begin later this month, ministers said they were particularly "concerned about the slow progress" being made in drawing up common Union policies to combat climate change in the transport, energy, industry, agriculture and taxation fields.

They called on energy ministers to sign up to the Commission's goal of doubling the use of renewables and appealed to finance ministers to make rapid progress towards agreeing a Union-wide energy tax.

They also urged the Commission to "strengthen and speed up" its work on EU-wide measures to tackle global warming. However, Commission officials said the institution had already issued a raft of proposals which had been blocked or watered down by governments.

Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström is to launch an action programme to combat climate change early in 2000 as part of her efforts to persuade EU governments to do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions.