Commission adopts ten actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
The European Commission has announced a package of initiatives to tackle climate change, including a series of ten actions to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. In adopting this package, which includes a proposal for all the Member States to ratify the Kyoto protocol and a draft directive on greenhouse gas emissions trading within the EU, the Commission is doing its part to implement the Kyoto protocol before the world summit on sustainable development, Rio+10 in Johannesburg in September 2002. 'With these proposals, we pursue the EU's ambition to provide leadership in addressing climate change. By presenting proposals for an emissions trading system and other emission reduction measures in parallel to the ratification instrument, we wish to demonstrate that we are serious about delivering on the commitments we have signed up to. I hope that other parties to the Kyoto protocol will also move quickly towards its ratification and implementation,' said EU Environment Commissioner, Margot Wallström. 'We have no time to lose in combating climate change,' she said. The Commission intends to make specific proposals to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions over the next two years. Plans include legislation on combined heat and power, energy efficiency requirements for end-use equipment and energy demand management as well as initiatives to promote energy efficiency in public procurement and to encourage alternatives to road transport. It is hoped that these measures will enable the EU to meet the eight per cent reduction in emissions between the levels of 1990 and those of 2008 to 2012, set out in the Kyoto protocol. These actions are included on a list of around 40 measures identified under the Commission's European climate change programme (ECCP), launched in March 2000. If all of these measures are implemented, the reduction in emissions is expected to be double that required by the Kyoto agreement. The ten actions adopted by the Commission on 23 October are alone expected to close almost half of the gap between the forecasts for EU emissions in 2010 and the Kyoto target for the same year.