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CLIMATE CHANGE: EU Leaders Fail Planet - Mary Robinson
By David Cronin
BRUSSELS, Nov 24, 2007 (IPS) - Europe is not displaying sufficient leadership ahead of the Bali conference on climate change, according to Mary Robinson, the former United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR).
In March this year, the European Union’s governments committed themselves to reducing the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. A cut of 30 percent was promised if other industrialised countries agree to similar targets.
Robinson, who was also Ireland’s first female president, said she is disappointed that the EU is making part of its reduction targets conditional on the behaviour of countries in the wider world.
"We still don’t have the political leadership we need," she told IPS.
During recent discussions, EU finance ministers have rejected proposals for revising taxation on cars to take account of their emissions of carbon dioxide – the main gas triggering climate change. "A willingness to agree a carbon tax would have hugely beneficial consequences," said Robinson. "That’s part of leadership."
Still, she welcomed a statement earlier this month by José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, that a failure by rich countries to reduce their emissions would hinder the fight against world poverty and hunger. Scientists estimate that 75-200 million Africans will have their supply of water threatened by climate change within the next decade.
"It (climate change) very much is a development issue because there is a complete nexus between energy and poverty," Robinson added. "There are 1.6 billion people who have no access to electricity. Unless we change our habits and get real political leadership, the expert projections are that in 2030, there will still be 1.4 billion people with no access to electricity.
"If we see climate change only as an environmental challenge, we will approach adaptation in terms of sea-walls (to address rising sea levels) and seeds that don’t need as much water. Climate change is a political and social and human rights challenge."
Robinson took part in a Nov. 23 conference in Brussels. It examined the issues facing the 180 countries that will be represented when talks on framing a successor to the Kyoto agreement on climate change kick off in Bali, Indonesia next month.
Oxfam spokesman Alexander Woollcombe said that the poor "who have done the least to cause the situation we are in are suffering the most and are suffering now. "This is a point that is well-known and well-accepted. But it is not being addressed."
He cited estimates that 50 billion dollars per year are needed to help poor countries adapt to climate change. But just 148 million dollars is now being given in aid for that purpose, he added, underscoring that assistance earmarked for dealing with climate change must not be at the expense of funds for combating poverty.
Margot Wallström, the European Commission’s vice-president, defended the EU’s decision to make its reduction targets partly conditional on efforts undertaken elsewhere. "It would be more difficult to get business on board, if they have a 10 percent higher target than the rest of the world," she told IPS, arguing that firms would regard such a goal as "distorting competition".
Wallström nonetheless acknowledged that she was unhappy with how EU governments have baulked at introducing a carbon tax on vehicles.
"Economic incentives would be the most forceful ones," she said. "I hope that public opinion will lead to pressure being put on decision-makers and that we will see moves in the right direction."
Wolfgang Gregor from light bulb-makers Osram said that up to 40 percent of energy from lighting could be saved. The resulting cut in carbon emissions would be equivalent to those released by Canada and two-thirds of Russia.
Describing low-energy bulbs as a "new sexy business", he stated that the 1.6 billion people without electricity use 77 billion litres of kerosene per year, resulting in 190 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
"The level of trust in business is not as high as we would like it to be," said Andrew Fisk from Procter and Gamble, the washing powder firm. It has been necessary for his company, he added, to have external studies conducted to convince consumers of the benefit of washing clothes at 30 degrees Celsius, the lowest level on many washing machines.
Toyota’s Graham Smith said there could be 1.2 billion cars in the world by 2020, a rise of 71 percent from today’s levels. "It is obvious that for mobility to be sustainable, we must all focus on reducing vehicle emissions," he added.
Teresa Fogelberg from the Global Reporting Initiative, which has developed a system for calculating the environmental impact of businesses, said a number of measures have been taken voluntarily by companies to inform consumers about their greenhouse gas emissions. Air France and the Dutch carrier KLM have put details on carbon dioxide on their passenger tickets, for example.
Ultimately, though, ‘sustainability reporting’ may have to be mandatory, she added. The lack of compulsory measures means that firms that have not improved their environmental performance "can hide behind a smokescreen", she said, adding that "there would be a more level playing-field if companies that are more hesitant are pulled on board".
(END)
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