More environmental education,
alternative sources of energy and stricter
transportation laws are some of the proposals
put forth by Europe’s next generations of
policy makers and voters.
9 May, Europe day, commemorates the speech
the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman
gave 57 years ago, advocating closer European
cooperation. Europe day has a particularly
special meaning this year as we also celebrate
the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaty.
Curious as to how the future policy-makers
and voters feel about Europe's environment,
the EEA's communication team interviewed
young Europeans. The interviews were conducted
at the first ever Rome Youth Summit organised
by the European Commission. In addition,
the team interviewed students from the Copenhagen
International School in Denmark. The teenagers
showed a clear concern about climate change
and gave some very specific policy prescriptions.
Click on the below images to view the interviews:
'What are your concerns about the environment,
now and in the future, and what policy changes
would you propose to protect our planet?''The
environment is our home', says Luca Palescandolo
from Italy, 'if we do not preserve our home,
ultimately we won't be able to live on this
planet.' Integral environmental education
programmes, strict legislation and effective
follow-up of governmental initiatives in
environmental protection are some of the
proposed solutions to tackling today's problems.
The interviews were conducted at the Youth
Summit co-organised by the European Commission
and Youth Forum. Over 200 delegates from
European youth organisations gathered to
open a dialogue with EU policy-makers and
to produce input for the debate on the future
of Europe.
50th anniversary celebrations, Youth Summit,
Rome, 2007
'If you were the President of Europe, what
would you do to help decrease pollution
and improve our environment?'Increasing
taxes on cars and using that money to invest
in environmentally-friendly forms of transportation
are the most cited policies a green President
would implement. Other proposals include
ambitious renewable energy targets and big
budgets for alternative sources of energy,
environmental education and campaigns to
inform the young, and the not so young alike,
on what they can do to help the environment.
EU greenhouse gas emissions drop in 2005
Emissions of climate-changing greenhouse
gases (GHG) decreased between 2004 and 2005,
according to preliminary data from a forthcoming
EEA report. The report, 'Annual European
Community greenhouse gas inventory 11000-2005
and inventory report 2007', was submitted
to the secretariat of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
as the European Community’s official submission
on 14 April. It will be officially launched
in mid-June 2007.
Themes Climate change
The drop in emissions, while positive,
must be viewed in context. It represents
a decrease over only one year and may not
be representative of the trend over a longer
period
Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive
Director of the EEA
The EEA has taken the decision to release
the main messages of the report early because
of growing public and political interest
in the issue of climate change.
The key points of the report are:
EU-15: Emissions of GHGs decreased by 0.8
% between 2004 and 2005.
EU-15: Emissions of GHGs decreased by 1.5
% compared to 11000.
EU-27: Emissions of GHGs decreased by 8
% compared to 11000 levels.
Which sectors are mainly responsible for
the GHG cuts?
In absolute terms, the main sectors contributing
to emissions reductions between 2004 and
2005 in the EU-15 were public electricity
and heat production, households and services,
and road transport.
Emissions from public electricity and heat
production decreased mainly due to a reduction
in the reliance on coal. The reduced emissions
from households and services have to be
further analysed, but appear to be due to
climatic conditions. The decrease in emissions
from road transport has also to be further
analysed, but appears to be a combination
of reduced fuel consumption and increased
use of diesel cars.
Which countries show the biggest decreases
in GHG emissions?
Germany, Finland and the Netherlands contributed
most to the EU-15 reduction.
Germany: a shift from coal to gas in the
production of public electricity and heat
was one of the main reasons for the decrease
in emissions. In addition, emissions from
road transport and from households and services
declined substantially.
Finland: emission reductions were mainly
due to a substantial decrease in the use
of fossil fuels in the production of public
electricity and heat. Coal use, in particular,
decreased.
The Netherlands: less fossil fuel was used
for the production of public electricity
and heat.
Notes:What is the annual GHG inventory
report?
The EEA compiles this report annually using
information reported by national governments
under the EC GHG Monitoring Mechanism.
The report contains domestic GHG emissions
data from 11000 to 2005 for the EU-15 and
the EU-27. Domestic, in this context, refers
to emissions from within each Member State,
which are then added up to give an EU total.
The data may be subject to change up to
May 2007 as a result of initial checks by
the UNFCCC secretariat and updates by EU
Member States, however, the main trends
outlined will not change.
What is the significance of this report
in the context of the Kyoto Protocol?
Official reporting of emissions for compliance
purposes under the Kyoto Protocol does not
begin until 2010 – when emissions will be
reported for 2008. In the meantime, this
report is the most accurate inventory of
greenhouse gas emissions for the EU and
can be used to track progress towards Kyoto
targets.
The EU-15 has a common target to reduce
GHG emissions by 8 %, compared to the base
year* using domestic reductions (cutting
emissions from each Member State) as well
as Kyoto mechanisms (EU Member States invest
in emissions reductions initiatives outside
the EU in return for credits). This inventory
report suggests that domestic emissions
of GHGs decreased by approximately 1.9 %
compared to the base year under the Kyoto
Protocol.
(*The base year for most greenhouse gases
under the Kyoto Protocol is 11000 for the
EU-15, but some Member States use 1995 as
the base year for fluorinated or 'F-gases',
one of the so-called greenhouse gases)
When will the final GHG inventory report
be published?
The EEA will not publish more information
on the EU GHG emissions situation until
mid-June, 2007.
What is the EU-27
EU-27: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United
Kingdom.
What is the EU-15?
EU-15: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, the United Kingdom.
