Green Options

No support from United States and adverse economic conditions have forced the European Union to rethink its promise of providing financial support to the developing countries.

Developed nations have proposed weaker carbon emission reduction goals at the Bonn climate negotiations. If the rising carbon emissions are to be tamed it is necessary that they set ambitious targets.

To help insure meaningful climate legislation, one of the first lessons is to resist undue influence from the lobbyists, says one leading official of Germany’s Emissions Trading Authority.

China appears to be backing out of global efforts to address climate change, intensifying pre-Copenhagen debate.

A top China central government think tank yesterday released a framework for quantifying countries’ historical emissions. Under this proposed framework, the State Council Development Research Center (DRC) would create a “historic account” of past emissions, used to benchmark developing countries with lower accumulated emissions - like China - against countries with higher accumulated emissions and assign emissions “deficits” to countries who have emitted less. Using this quantitative assessment, countries with emissions “deficits” would get the green light to emit, or trade emissions credits with countries that have already exceeded their allowance.

The release of this plan supports external analysis that China believes it should have the right to develop free from carbon reductions until their accumulated emissions are on par with industrialized countries. A recent Brookings Institute report: “Overcoming Obstacles to US-China Cooperation on Climate Change” articulated Beijing’s stance, which included the conviction that:

Countries should be held responsible not only for their current emissions but also for their cumulative historical emissions, given that greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere over many decades.

This plan is Beijing’s most comprehensive effort to date to both highlight and quantify development inequalities as a justification for releasing China and other developing countries from emissions reduction expectations.

I know the question burning in your mind right now is “How much would I have to pay to own three copies of ABBA’s Definitive Collection all for myself?”. Not just the Greatest Hits or the Mamma Mia soundtrack. No, the one with the word “definitive” in the title. We wouldn’t mind telling you exactly how much it’d cost.

But before we do that, we’d like to tell you about a different way to spend the same amount of money. While this option wouldn’t have you rocking out to Swedish 80’s pop songs, it would let you personally prevent a measurable amount of pollution from some of Europe’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters.

As EcoWorldly continues its theme with transport news and views from across the globe, two items have come to my attention here in the UK.

Air Pollution

Aviation tax proposals have been outlined by the government. Under the new guidelines, due to come into effect in November this year, it will be the planes, not the passengers, that will be taxed.

New Government figures released showed that emissions from air travel are continuing to rise. Between 1990 and 2006, emissions from aviation fuel use more than doubled.

21 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions will be attributable to air traffic by 2050, and the Treasury report insisted the proposed tax system would, “introduce fairer duty, more in line with the environmental impact of flights, including the distance travelled”.