EU close to achieving Kyoto targets

Chamikara Weerasinghe in Bali, Indonesia

The European Commission said yesterday at a UN Climate Change press conference held at the Bali International Convention Centre that it was moving closer to achieving Kyoto Protocol targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases but additional measures would be needed to ensure success.

The 15-member States that made up the EU until its enlargement to 27 member states have to reduce their collective greenhouse gas emissions by eight per cent below the 1990 base level emissions under the Kyoto Protocol during 2008 to 2012 below the emission levels of 1990. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) is complemented by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which has 176 parties . Thirty six industrialised countries and the European Community have committed to reduce their greenhouse emissions under the Protocol.

The effects of global "climate change" that result from global warming, caused by excess of heat -trapping gases, first and foremost carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxides, are responsible for frequent occurrences of droughts , flooding and wide-spread malaria in the world. Among the other phenomenon attributed to climate change are increased incidents of hurricanes , forest fires and rising sea levels.

EU panelists said their 15 pre- 2004 Member States has already introduced measures for reducing greenhouse emissions towards meeting the Kyoto Protocol by purchasing emission credits from third World countries and by implementing forestry activities that absorb carbon from atmosphere.

The latest projections by Member States show that existing policies and measures - those already implemented - are expected to reduce EU-15 emissions to 4% below base year levels by 2010, the middle year of the 2008-2012 period.

Plans by 10 of the EU-15 Member States to buy credits from emission-saving projects carried out in third countries under Kyoto's market-based mechanisms would bring a further reduction of 2.5%, taking the cut to 6.5%.

Planned afforestration and reforestration activities , which create biological sinks that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, would contribute an additional cut of 0.9%, giving a 7.4% reduction, 0.6% short of the Kyoto target.

The target will be more than comfortably achieved on condition that additional policies and measures currently under discussion are promptly put in place and fully implemented. The total emissions reduction could then increase to 11.4%.

Additional policies and measures under discussion at EU level which would contribute to meeting the Kyoto target include the Commission's proposals to include aviation in the EU ETS from 2011 and to require a 10% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from transport fuels between 2011 and 2020. Both are presently under discussion within the Council and the European Parliament.