Current situation The EEB considers the fight against climate change to be one of the most important challenges facing today's world, and believes that the EU must be willing to take the lead in helping to combat this global crisis.
Climate change puts pressure upon our society to look at our global responsibilities and to reduce energy use. Neither can be solved with technological fixes alone (although it makes eco-efficiency a political top issue), so technical change needs to lead to changes in production and consumption patterns, in transport, energy, agriculture, industry.
The Kyoto Protocol has presented the EU with the challenging task of reducing the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 8% over the next decade. It represents a strong incentive for a shift in energy policies: from supply security to demand-side management, from fossil fuels use to renewable and safe energy systems. While this alone is not nearly enough to stabilise climate change, it will be quite an achievement in political terms. The EU has agreed to realise a substantial part of this task within its own geographical area, but it is looking for ways to pay rather than reduce as well, through the so-called flexible mechanisms, which would allow Europe to buy carbon dioxide emissions "credits" from other countries to help meet its reduction goal.
What is the EEB doing?
The EEB works closely with Climate Action Network Europe in efforts to ensure that the EU will fully implement its Kyoto obligations and start identifying already the objectives and actions beyond 2008. The EEB emphases the need for environment fiscal reform in order to make the market work for energy efficiency. Beyond this, the EEB is contributing to the climate change campaign by highlighting links between climate and waste, agriculture, air pollution and Integrated Pollution Prevention Control.
For background information and other links click
For more information, please contact: John Hontelez
email: hontelez@eeb.org
& Climate Action Network
email: infor@climnet.org
