Klimaatverandering 90

Twee mannen zitten in een trein die dreigt te ontsporen. De een zegt tegen de ander. Ik trek pas aan de rem als jij trekt. Die absurde redenering volgt de Europese Unie.

De New York Times bericht:

'Europeans Agree to Cut Emissions Sharply If US and Others Follow Suit.
By James Kanter
The New York Times

Paris - Seeking to persuade other nations to curb greenhouse gas emissions, European Union ministers pledged Tuesday to raise their own targets if industrialized countries like the United States made similar efforts.
European governments would be ready to cut emissions 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, from a current pledge of 20 percent, but only if other heavy polluters joined in, said Sigmar Gabriel, the German environment minister, who led a meeting in Brussels that formally endorsed the European targets.
Germany, the biggest European economy, was already prepared to cut its emissions even further if there was a broader agreement, Mr. Gabriel said, noting that the German Parliament had supported a 40 percent target.
The pledges, which match a proposal made by the European Commission last month, are signs that nations are gearing up for new negotiations on a global climate accord after 2012, when the first period covered by the Kyoto Protocol expires.
The issue is expected to be on the agenda when Germany serves as host of a meeting in June of the Group of 8 nations. European countries are hoping to win pledges from big developing countries as well, including China and India.
"You get a deadlock in international negotiations when there's the attitude that, 'We're not going to do anything until someone goes first,' so it's good that the ministers committed to 20 percent," said Kirsty Hamilton, a policy consultant for the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy, a group representing British utilities.
But environmentalists were disappointed that governments postponed a more ambitious goal of 30 percent, unless other countries adopted similar policies.
Choosing a lower target "will send the wrong signal to the international community, casting a dubious light on how serious the European Union is about fighting climate change," said Jan Kowalzig, a climate and energy campaigner for Friends of the Earth in Brussels.'

Lees verder: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/business/worldbusiness/21warm.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Of:
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/022107EC.shtml