The Kyoto Protocol: Look Who’s Talking
Tuesday, December 27th, 2005 -- J. DoeWhen President Bush of the United States decided not to sign the Kyoto Accords he was largely villified, especially in the European press, but as it turns out, only one of the 15 nations of the European Union (UK) is actually meeting the reduction standards.
Here is an interesting article;
EU states that berated Bush on Kyoto fail to hit emissions targets
MANY of the European nations responsible for coercing the United States to remain committed to combating climate change are named and shamed today as major polluters of the environment.
A remarkable report has discovered Britain stands almost alone among 15 EU nations in making strides towards honouring Kyoto commitments to cut greenhouse gases.
The London-based think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has found that ten of the 15 European Union signatories to the Kyoto Protocol will miss their targets by 2010 without urgent action.
The worst offenders are Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy, each up to 20 per cent off target. Only Britain, Sweden and France are remotely on target.
The poorly performing nations are among the many who have criticised the US and President George Bush - who early in his presidency declared Kyoto “dead” - for refusing to sign up to the agreement because of fears it would limit economic growth.
However, earlier this month - after fierce negotiations at a United Nations conference in Montreal, Canada - the US did agree to a “non-binding dialogue to respond to climate change”, aimed at setting new mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions after 2012, when the existing pact known as the Kyoto Protocol expires.
You know what they say about people who live in glass houses, they shouldn’t throw stones.
You can read the rest of the article here>>.
