Governments show lack of political will to fulfil climate-change commitments

Date: 10/02/2000

By Simon Coss

IT is now certain that the EU will be unable to keep the promises it made at the 1997 climate change talks in Kyoto Japan to make significant cuts in its emissions of greenhouse gases by 2012.

To have had any chance of meeting its target of reducing emissions of six greenhouse gases to 8% below 1990 levels by the target date, the Union needed to introduce a series of tough new policy measures by the end of last year, at the latest.

But despite repeated criticisms from both the European Commission and the green community, EU governments have shown themselves unwilling to introduce the sorts of unpopular policies which will be needed to really make a dent in the Union's production of carbon dioxide (CO₂)and other gases.

This sorry state of affairs was underlined by Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström last November when she unveiled a report on the effectiveness of the institution's fifth environmental action programme, which draws to a close this year.

She warned then that the Union had singularly failed to address the problem of global warming. "The main problem is that we have not achieved much progress in changing economic and social trends," she said.

The Commission report stated bluntly that the lack of progress meant the EU would not meet its Kyoto targets, adding that Union schemes supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency had so far "had little effect" and that member states had "yet to produce convincing plans" to reduce emissions.

The Commission argues that one of the single biggest problems holding up progress on cutting greenhouse emissions has been the failure of EU governments to agree on a plan to harmonise taxes on coal, electricity, gas and mineral oils.

The proposal was first put forward by Competition Commissioner Mario Monti when he was in charge of internal market issues in the 1995-1999 Santer Commission. But efforts to introduce the tax have since been systematically blocked by Spain, which argues the planned levy would put undue strains on its national industries. As EU tax-policy proposals must be adopted unanimously, this has stymied all efforts to get a deal.

Without the energy tax, or something very like it, the Commission maintains that it will be almost impossible for the Union ever to meet its Kyoto commitments.

This year, a small amount of progress has been made in introducing policies to combat global warming, notably in France, where the government recently announced a raft of emissions-busting measures including a new tax on 'intermediate' energy products.

But unless other EU member states follow Paris' lead, France's efforts alone will do little to reduce the Union's overall problem.

And even if the EU does bite the emissions bullet over the next 12 months, its actions will have to be emulated by the rest of the developed world before the quantity of greenhouse gases produced by the planet as a whole can be significantly reduced.

There is precious little evidence at the moment that the world's other main CO₂ producers - most notably the US - have much intention of introducing the necessary anti-emission rules.

In December this year, all the countries which signed the Kyoto accord will sit down once again and try to work out just how to fulfil the promises they made in 1997.

But the chances of finding a formula which everyone can sign up to appear slim.

One of the biggest bones of contention in the current debate is an as-yet untried policy known as emissions trading.

Under this scheme, which was dreamed up at the Kyoto talks, an international market in pollution 'credits' would be set up. Every country would be given a number of these credits and if some managed to reach their Kyoto emissions target without using up their entire allocation, they would be allowed to sell the remainder. The country buying the credits would then be able to offset them against its own Kyoto target, thus reducing the need for unpopular policy measures at home.

Critics have described emissions trading as "buying the right to pollute". While the EU insists that the practice should only be used to supplement national emission rules, the Americans argue that no limits should be placed on its use.

It is now certain that the EU will be unable to keep the promises it made at the 1997 climate change talks in Kyoto, Japan to make significant cuts in its emissions of greenhouse gases by 2012. Article forms part of a survey 'Environment'.