The campaign targets 11 EU countries — Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The campaign will involve celebrities from the various participating countries.

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Recently, I came up with a list of seven things that really stand out to me as good environmental practices in Europe that could be transferred to the US. These could all be adopted in the US, but some are more personal in nature and some are more systematic. Furthermore, some of the personal ones regard large, life decisions, and some are much simpler in nature and easier to implement into your life now.

Of course, Europe is not one country and things vary from country to country. Nonetheless, there are also several similarities across borders. I have friends in other countries and have traveled a bit as well, so I hope to be sharing the best of the best.

Here’s the list!

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During a recent meeting of the Environment minsters of EU member countries side stepped the issue of declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant. While the minsters agreed on a proposal to reduce industrial pollution various environment groups criticized the ministers’ inaction on what seemed an essential and significant decision in Europe’s fight against climate change.

According to the deal reached, heavy industries like power plants and oil refineries will have to comply to new and stricter sulfur and nitrogen emissions as well as the release of dust particles, asbestos and heavy metals into the environment. Obviously, carbon dioxide has been left out which is why the environmentalists have been fuming. European leaders should have sent a strong message by classifying carbon dioxide as a pollutant keeping in mind the Copenhagen Climate Talks scheduled later this year.

Classify carbon dioxide as a pollutant would have added teeth to the EU goal of 20 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 by adding the health aspect it. European Environment Bureau, a coalition of local environmental groups voiced its concerns saying,

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After committing to the formation of a climate change fund for the poor countries at the 2007 Bali conference, the European Union is finding itself in a fix over how to raise the billions needed to assist the poor countries acquire the new cleaner technology from the developed nations.

In a meeting held at Brussels, the EU nations failed to build consensus over the amount of funds they were willing to commit for the promised climate change fund. Questions like which nations contributes how much, how would this affect the already recession-hit economies and will the United States and advanced developing countries respond in kind, remained unanswered meaning that there was no agreement reached.

The issues which form the core of this problem are: No indication from advanced developing countries to commit to mandatory emissions reduction and thus unwillingness from the developed nations (and their citizens) to unilaterally commit to stricter emission reductions; secondly, during this phase of economic recession there is huge shortage of credit around the world and governments are reluctant to invest in other countries or international projects and lastly, differences over the principle of ‘polluter pays’.

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The UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland is ground zero for world leaders looking to take the next steps in tackling global warming. The international conference is aimed at negotiating a new agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, and to be finalized in Copenhagen in December of 2009.

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To celebrate the record-breaking environmental achievement, the driver arrived at the World Climate Change Conference in Poland and plowed through a wall of Styrofoam, releasing some of the only harmful emissions on the car’s 32,000-mile trip.

Louis Palmer, 36, drove the “solar taxi” through 38 countries, picking up celebrities and global officials for short legs along the way. Palmer says his passengers included U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Monaco’s Prince Albert, Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron, and Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

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The UN Climate Conference in Poznan, Poland, starting today is raising hopes and fears across the green spectrum. As reported in the Christian Science Monitor.

A year-long push to devise a new global climate-change treaty – one that picks up where the Kyoto Protocol leaves off – gets under way Monday in Poland, with delegates from more than 190 nations set to resume grappling with the thorny issues of how much more to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and who will pay.

The talks, in their first round, are focused on reducing human influence on climate from occurring, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). More or less, this means keeping global warming to about 2 degrees Celsius above pre industrial levels by the end of the century. Expectations however are low for this meeting.

President-Elect Obama’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gases to pre 1990 levels in the next 12 years notwithstanding, this group has a lot of challenges ahead. This first round of talks is primarily to develop working groups to tackle the various issues surrounding climate change in both developed and developing countries. But, with the global economic crisis on everyone’s mind, it will be hard to keep the conversation on track and work toward lower carbon emissions.

And while they are working to devise ways to reduce carbon emissions, they’ll create quite a few. AFP reports:

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We identified that we are on a crash course in life, the life of future generations, others, all of the species that are suffering due to our inconsiderate and consumptive ways, and the natural environment as we know it and as it has come to be after a slow, lengthy process of evolution. Now, we are trying to change course, we are trying to change.

What is this change we are seeking, and how do we achieve it?

We are seeking a fundamental change in the larger effect we (as a society and as a species) are having on the earth. We are seeking this in many ways, but one great opportunity in seeking this broader change is to change our own needs, our own desires, our own habits and lifestyles. When is this a greater possibility than when we are going through tremendous life changes anyway. With change comes the opportunity for greater change. We decide to go into the basement to get something out of a box, and we end up finding all kinds of things we can toss forever or use or give away.

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