European Union for the climate
Fighting climate change is about "saving civilization" Environment - 31-01-2007 - 12:00
Since 1976 the global temperature has risen sharply by 0.18°C per decade. If this continues the consequences will be catastrophic. Rising temperatures could cause desertification and melting ice caps could raise sea levels, exposing tens of millions to the risk of flooding. On Wednesday afternoon climate change and how to slow it was debated by the European Parliament.
Environment Committee: cut greenhouse gas by 30% by 2020
Tuesday in the Environment Committee, MEPs voted in favour of a draft resolution on climate change calling for a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Developed countries like those in Europe are responsible for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The cuts proposed by MEPs are a third more than the European Commission proposed in their January 2007 "Communication on Climate Change". It will be debated today with the Commission and a representative from the Council of Ministers.
The debate is part of "European Week for Sustainable Energy", which will look at options for more efficient energy use.
Some steps but more needed
In May last year the Parliament supported an EU-wide regulation prohibiting the sale and manufacture of some products that use fluorinated greenhouse gases. MEPs also supported a regulation relating to air conditioning systems in cars that use huge amounts of energy and increase fuel consumption.
In December Parliament passed a resolution in favour of "sustainable, competitive and secure" energy for the EU.
What we can do - switch off, turn down and recycle
Changes in our daily lives can make a big impact on the environment. Here's how and why:
- Switch off lights and other electrical appliances like TVs, stereos and lights. Households use 30% of the EU's electricity and a TV on "standby" is still using 45% of its electricity.
- Don't overheat at home. Turning down the thermostat just one degree will mean energy savings of 7%.
- Walk, cycle, use public transport- anything that reduces car use. A litre of engine fuel is 2.5 kg of CO2.
- Drive wisely: at 120 km fuel consumption increases by 30% compared with 80 km. Fourth and fifth gears are the most economical. Watch tyre pressure as low pressure means higher fuel use.
Stern warning Visiting the Parliament yesterday, leading US academic Lester Brown said that "we are talking about saving the planet but actually we are talking about saving the civilization". He went on to say the 800 million car owners in the world and 2 billion people living in poverty are at the end of the day all competing for the same resources". This warning comes on the heels of the Stern report in the UK last year into the economic costs of climate change. The report estimates the cost of action to be 1% of global GDP per year whilst the cost of inaction is 5-20% a year.