09
Dec 2008 - New European Union legislation
defining member states’ sharing of the 2020
climate targets is currently so inadequate
that the European Parliament should reject
it unless it is significantly strengthened
this week by EU Heads of State Climate Action
Network, Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace,
WWF and other NGOs said today.
The proposal to share
post-2012 greenhouse gas reductions between
EU countries, known as ‘Effort Sharing’,
is one of the key elements of EU action
against climate change. It sets the reduction
targets for sectors not covered by emissions
trading, such as agriculture, transport
and households representing 55% of EU emissions.
However this proposal, steered by the self-interest
of EU member states, sets the bar far too
low:
• The proposal as it
stands has no clear legally binding commitment
to a 30% reduction target by 2020, the reduction
promised by EU leaders only 20 months ago.
• Up to two thirds of the reduction efforts
will not even be made in Europe, but met
through buying external ‘off-set credits’.
This will not provide the incentives to
cut Europe’s reliance on fossil fuels, nor
to drive the creation of new green jobs
in Europe.
• The proposal contains no credible compliance
mechanism, such as fines, to ensure that
member states achieve their targets.
• The proposal does not include concrete
amounts of funding to help developing countries
to adapt to climate change and to reduce
their own emissions.
“This part of the EU
Climate Package is a farce: totally inadequate
to the scale of ambition needed if we are
to tackle climate change and sets a bad
example to international partners currently
meeting at the UN climate talks in Poznan.
Members of the European
Parliament have already shown that they
understand what is needed from Europe. They
must hold their nerve and reject these proposals
from European heads of state unless they
are significantly improved this week. Europe’s
international climate credibility is at
stake,” NGOs stated.
Delia Villagrasa, Senior Advisor, WWF European
Policy Office
+ More
European eels to feel
the pinch at Xmas
10 Dec 2008 - Stockholm,
Sweden: The European eel, categorized as
“critically endangered” by the IUCN and
red-listed in WWF’s fish guide, is set for
a rough Christmas if Baltic ferry line menus
are an accurate guide.
Several major Baltic
ferry operators, including Silja Line/Tallink,
Viking Line and Eckerö Linjen (which
all happen to come from Finland) still serve
eel to their guests as part of their Christmas
buffet.
“The situation for eels
is extremely dire,” said Lasse Gustavsson,
CEO of WWF Sweden. “We encourage the entire
restaurant industry and all responsible
restaurant owners to immediately remove
eel from their Christmas buffets.”
The number of eels entering
rivers in Europe has dropped incredibly
to just 1 per cent of pre-1980 levels, with
no obvious cause. Possible reasons include
over-exploitation, inland habitat loss,
climate and ocean current change, disease
and pollution.
Eel was added to the
CITES convention in June 2007 and the listing
will come into effect on 13 March 2009,
after which time all parties to the convention
will be required to issue permits for all
exports of the species. An export permit
may be issued only if the specimen was legally
obtained and if the export will not be detrimental
to the survival of the species.
“If we are to enjoy
eel with a clear conscience in the future,
we must give the species a chance to recover
and for population sizes to increase.”
Some companies claim
to sell farmed eel but these are in fact
wild eel that have been caught and fattened.
“There has not been any real success in
breeding eel in captivity and claims of
‘ecological eel farming’ are simply false
marketing,” says Inger Näslund, responsible
for fisheries issues at WWF Sweden.
In southern Sweden the
organic farm and restaurant Ängavallen
has decided not to serve eel in its Christmas
buffet. Instead, a portion of the revenue
from the buffet is donated to a special
eel fund involving researchers and environmental
organisations. The aim is to raise €10 000
and the funds will be used to support a
project that will increase the eel population
in a long-term, sustainable fashion.
