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A series of gloomy reports on the global environment in the past week was
unanimous in concluding that developed countries must act quickly to reduce
warming emissions to avert ecological and economic disaster, November 2006
by Elisabeth Rosenthal.

The World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report said that humans would be
using the equivalent of twice the Earth's natural resources by 2050 if
current trends continued.

Reports from both the European Commission and the European Environment
Agency chastised European countries for not honoring commitments to reduce
pollution.

Finally, on Monday, a report commissioned by the British government
concluded that the consequences of global warming, such as flooding, could
cost nations up to 20 percent of their gross domestic product, setting off a
new depression.

But in many ways, the reports also served to underscore Europe's aggressive
political leadership on green issues - from carbon dioxide emissions to
genetically modified food to regulating industrial chemicals.

Even as the United States and Australia have refused to participate in the
United Nations climate control treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, Europe is
increasingly offering itself as the drawing board on which new attempts to
improve the environment are tested.

"We feel we have a responsibility because most emissions come from developed
countries, including the EU," said Barbara Helfferich, the European
Commission environment spokeswoman. "We have an obligation to show how you
can move away from a carbon-fuel- based economy."

Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose government commissioned the British study,
which is called the Stern report, has been a particular champion of the
environment. Earlier this month, Britain led a two-day climate conference in
Mexico for the world's 40 most-polluting nations.

Chancellor Angela Merkel recently said that Germany should aim for a 30
percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2020 - an ambitious target.

"Europe is uniquely placed to provide leadership on these issues," said
Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the European Environment Agency in
Copenhagen, a watchdog group that is affiliated with the EU. "Anyway, no one
else is doing it."

In many ways, the messages in the multiple reports reinforce each other: All
cite mounting evidence of global warming, from melting glaciers to an
increase in hurricanes, and conclude that urgent work is needed to reverse
the trend.

While the Stern report focused on the economic ramifications, the World
Wildlife Fund targeted resource depletion. The European Commission and the
European Environment Agency focused on political will and response.

"The Stern report doesn't give us much new information, but it lends
credibility and gets more people on board, which is important," said
Helfferich, the European Commission environment spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, the United Nations reported this week that cumulative emissions
from the 40 nations it tracks had increased in 2004 to the highest levels
since the early 1990s.

"What they are all saying in these reports is that we are changing the
environment much faster than we thought, and if we want to avoid devastating
impacts we need to find a way that emissions will start to decline in the
next 10 to 15 years," said James Leape, director general of the World
Wildlife Fund International.

In the World Wildlife Fund report, emissions from fossil fuels were
responsible for nearly half of man's impact on the environment.

"That means you need very aggressive actions in the industrialized world,"
he said, adding, "that means Europe at this time, because of the abdication
of responsibility of the U.S."

Under intense pressure from the European Commission, European countries have
moved to comply with the emission reductions required by the Kyoto Protocol,
and done more in some cases.

However, Australia and the United States have refused to sign the treaty,
arguing that it expects too much of developed nations and too little of
countries like India and China, which are also major polluters.

The commission is trying out numerous new mechanisms for reducing emissions,
including an ambitious scheme whereby thousands of Europe's largest
factories will effectively be given specific carbon emission limits.

Factories that exceed their allotment will be required to purchase credits
from companies that are producing less than their allowed quota, or by
financing environmental projects in the developing world, such as wind farms
in China or reforestation in Central America.

Also, a new EU Energy Saving Action Plan, proposed last week, would require
energy efficiency labeling for electronic products, from televisions to
computers, and would also set minimum energy efficiency performance
standards for new and renovated buildings.

This summer, all EU member states had to submit progress reports to the
commission, detailing how they intended to reduce emissions to meet the 2012
Kyoto deadlines.

But recent reviews of those submissions have yielded a mixed picture.

The latest projections showed that the original 15 member states would
collectively "just meet" their promises to reduce emissions by 8 percent,
according to Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. But 7 of those
countries exceed individual emissions targets, which are binding under EU
law.

"These projections show there is no room for complacency or error," he said
last week.

The European Environment Agency took a more pessimistic view of the data in
its report, concluding that the political proclamations amounted to more
talk than action in many nations.

McGlade noted that only 2 countries among the EU-15 - Britain and Sweden -
were on track to meet their emission reduction commitments through improving
domestic energy use.

But many EU countries, including Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Spain,
have not made adequate provisions to meet the goals. "Everyone has been
waving their arms, saying we're doing lots of things," she said. "Now they
need to live up to their promises."

[www.iht.com]

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