EU urges US to act at climate talks
'Europe is resolved to act and has mobilised to fight the greenhouse effect. Europe calls upon the other industrialised countries to join with us in this fight. The time has come for action.' With these words, French President Jacques Chirac in his capacity as current president of the European Council raised the temperature at the critical climate conference in The Hague. Progress at the talks has been slow, with the first round of talks from 13 to 17 November failing to reach any conclusions, which are vital if the Kyoto Protocol is to be implemented. The second round of talks, from 20 to 24 November will see political leaders, as well as European Environment Commissioner, Margot Wallström, taking the floor in an effort to reach compromises acceptable to everyone. 'It is not too late, but we have to take action now', said Mrs Wallström in an interview on 19 November. Mrs Wallström added that the decisions reached at COP6 must strike the right balance between effective domestic action by industrialised countries to address the root causes of climate change, such as greenhouse gas emissions from energy, transport and agriculture, and their use of the Kyoto Protocol's supplementary mechanisms. The EU has urged industrialised nations to act forcefully in order to cut emissions of carbon dioxide. The US would prefer to do this by means of trading emissions credits. By purchasing pollution quotas from nations who have already met emission reduction targets, the US would be able to avoid higher energy taxes for American industry and consumers. American strategies also include planting forests, known as carbon sinks, in order to soak up pollution. President Chirac reminded delegates of the extent to which curbing pollution is dependent on the US: 'Each American emits three times more greenhouse gases than a Frenchman. It is in the Americans, in the first place, that we place our hopes of effectively limiting greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale. No country can elude its share of the collective effort.' Indications that concessions could be made have been limited, but some progress was made on 20 November when US delegates announced that they would reduce the scale of credit to which the Americans believe they are entitled, and President Chirac appeared to offer some support for US favoured carbon sinks proposal: 'If it were to be [scientifically] confirmed that reforestation, the fight against desertification and the fight against global warming can be mutually reinforcing, then we would be wrong to rule out this course', he said.