11 Sep
2008 - Brussels, Belgium – The European
Parliament’s industry committee is trying
to ditch the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
(ETS) and to boycott 2020 climate targets,
environmental groups said following today’s
vote on how the carbon market should operate
after 2012.
The committee voted
to delay or even prevent the planned shift
from a 20 to a 30% emission reduction target,
on condition that an international climate
deal is reached next year.
“Today’s decision backtracks
on the commitments made by the EU last year.
The industry committee have clearly put
short-term economic interests before innovation
and technology development that would lead
to longer term benefits, such as new jobs
and a more secure energy system in Europe,”
said Sanjeev Kumar, ETS expert at WWF’s
European Policy Office.
Environmental NGOs denounce
the committee’s attempt to allow certain
carbon-intensive industries to continue
polluting largely for free, by reducing
the amount of allowances they will be obliged
to purchase. This decision has not been
backed up by evidence proving that they
would suffer undue economic disadvantage
compared to similar companies outside the
EU.
In addition, the vote
would allow companies to have access to
even more emission reduction credits from
projects in developing countries, further
reducing the effort required by companies
to reduce emissions within the EU.
This vote allows an
even higher access to external credits than
the Commission proposed, which means that
the cuts required domestically inside the
EU amount to only around 15%. The rest of
the emissions reduction effort can be undertaken
through dubious projects outside of the
EU. No legally binding, strong quality criteria
have been imposed on external credits.
“This vote weakens the
domestic emission reduction efforts required
by Europe. If other developed countries
followed the EU’s lead, the world would
be on course for at least a 3.6°C increase
in average global temperatures above pre-industrial
levels,” said Tomas Wyns, CAN Europe ETS
expert.
The industry committee
has in effect discounted Europe’s responsibility
to fight dangerous climate change. This
is not only completely irresponsible but
also the results of this vote will endanger
the EU’s credibility at the international
climate negotiations.
Environmental groups
argue that it is crucial that the environment
committee ignores today's disappointing
outcome in the industry committee. Environmental
groups call on the environment committee
– which will vote in early October – to
vote to improve the environmental effectiveness
of the emissions trading scheme.
Notes to editors
• The vote at the European Parliament comes
as WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth
Europe and the Climate Action Network have
launched a high profile campaign on crucial
legislation to determine the European Union’s
contribution to the fight against climate
change. The ‘Time to Lead’ campaign (www.timetolead.eu)
is asking EU decision-makers to take action
consistent with avoiding the most catastrophic
effects of global warming by keeping global
temperatures below 2°C.
• The EU has repeatedly committed to climate
policies aimed at keeping average global
temperature increases below 2°C above
pre-industrial levels.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) clearly states that emission
reductions in developed countries should
be between 25-40% by 2020 for the world
to have a chance of staying below 2°C
global warming.
Sanjeev Kumar, WWF
Tomas Wyns, Climate Action Network Europe
+ More
US cleaning giant joins
WWF Climate Savers
11 Sep 2008 - American
firm JohnsonDiversey, one of the world’s
largest providers of commercial cleaning
products and services, has joined the WWF
Climate Savers programme.
The announcement was
made by WWF-US, who said that JohnsonDiversey
had pledged to significantly reduce harmful
greenhouse gas emissions from their operations.
The company announced it will invest US$19
million over the next five years to achieve
these commitments.
WWF-US President and
CEO Carter Roberts said the actions being
taken by JohnsonDiversey to address climate
change will set a new standard for the cleaning
industry and serve as a model for other
companies seeking to transform the way they
do business to help preserve the environment.
“Changes in corporate
business practices are essential if we are
to see real progress in tackling climate
change, one of the most critical issues
facing the world today,” Roberts said.
“By joining Climate
Savers, JohnsonDiversey is demonstrating
that the world’s leading companies will
find even greater success competing in the
global marketplace when they operate in
an environmentally responsible way.
“We hope and expect
the rest of their industry will take notice
and follow the powerful example being set
by JohnsonDiversey to reduce emissions and
help preserve the health of our planet.”
By 2013, JohnsonDiversey
officials pledged to reduce emissions from
their operations by 8 per cent below 2003
levels, an 89,000-ton reduction in emissions.
JohnsonDiversey chairman
S. Curtis Johnson said: “This commitment
is one of our core values. Our objectives
have always extended beyond financial growth
to include promoting the health and well
being of our planet and the people who share
it.”
JohnsonDiversey is the
first company from the cleaning industry
to join WWF’s Climate Savers, which was
founded in 1999 and now comprises 17 major
international companies. By 2010 they will
collectively cut carbon emissions by over
14 million tons annually – the equivalent
of taking more than three million cars off
the road every year.
The WWF Climate Savers
programme has existing agreements with Johnson
& Johnson, IBM, Nike, Polaroid, Hewlett
Packard, The Collins Companies, Spitsbergen
Travel, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, Sagawa,
Sony, Nokia, Tetra Pak, Lafarge, Catalyst,
Novo Nordisk, and Nokia Siemens Networks.
