EU toughens rules on global warming
mongabay.com
November 29, 2006
Wednesday the European Commission demanded stricter limits on climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions for the 2008-2012 period.
According to a report from Reuters, only Britain’s carbon dioxide cap was accepted by the commission, though other EU governments can challenge the Commission’s ruling in court. Germany vocally objected to the decision with German Minister of the Economy Michael Glos calling it “totally unacceptable.” France, Lithuania, and Slovakia also voiced opposition according to reports.
The decision followed a highly publicized study by Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank, that said global warming could lead to a global economic slowdown that rivaled the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU committed itself to reducing its greenhouse gases emissions by 8 percent during the first commitment period from 2008 to 2012. To date, the original 15 EU members are on track to meet their Kyoto Protocol target, though emissions rose in 2004.
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Scientists say growing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing Earth’s temperature to rise. Next year the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is expected to release a new study detailing some of the possible effects of global warming, including worsening droughts and floods, rising sea levels, and more intense storms.
This article is based on a news release from McKinsey & Company.