EU aims high with its green energy targets

According to a report in the Cape Argus, German chancellor Angela Merkel challenged other nations to follow suit, saying the world still had time to ‘avoid what could well be a human calamity’. The deal at a summit of EU leaders also noted the role nuclear power could play in tackling global warming – an inclusion not welcomed by all. The plan obliges EU countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% from 1990 levels by 2020 and ensure 20% of their power comes from renewable energy, a big increase on the current figure of just over 6%. European leaders hope their commitment to tackling climate change will encourage other leading polluters, such as the US and China, to agree on deep emissions cuts. The EU deal is a compromise between nations that had demanded mandatory targets on clean energy and eastern European nations led by Poland and Slovakia who said they did not have the money to meet such high targets for developing costly alternatives. Full report in the Cape Argus

The move to energy efficient lighting is gaining momentum. Following on from Australia\'s pledge to phase out the usage of incandescent bulbs, leaders of the EU have decided that all member states will have to use energy efficient lighting before 2010. According to a report on the Engadget site, the switchover, which will affect all of the EU\'s 470m citizens, was developed with the aim of meeting targets to reduce energy usage by 20% by 2020. To that end, a commission will be accepting proposals for enabling the switchover ‘for office and street lighting to be adopted by 2008 and on incandescent lamps and other forms of lighting in private households by 2009’. Full report on the Engadget site

Environmentalists are largely supportive of the EU’s energy and climate decisions. Greenpeace termed the move the most important since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, according to EuroNews. While, Stephan Singer, head of WWF\'s European climate and energy unit in Belgium, said: \'The attempt was this time to make nuclear energy part of a Europe-wide energy mix to put it in connection with the European world climate target. This did not succeed. So nuclear energy is not part of a so-called \'green power\' target.\' Looking ahead to the next stages, the green campaigners made plain they would keep up pressure to see that the measures are translated into clear laws, as has been promised. Full EuroNews report

However, a new UK survey shows that the government’s departments for transport and environment are falling short of their own standards in the fight against climate change. According to a report on the Going Green newsletter, the report from the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) showed that emissions of carbon dioxide from Department for Transport vehicles stood at 9 670 tons in 2005 – a rise of 40% since 2002. It was also revealed that 11 departments had actually increased their level of carbon dioxide emissions from fuel since 1999. Meanwhile, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was found to be producing more waste than ever, as part of a 13% increase across all government departments in refuse since 2005. Full report on the Going Green site

Moving to America, where a draft report the Bush administration was due to release a year ago indicates that the US is set to emit almost 20% more greenhouse gases by 2020 than it did in 2000, ENS Newswire reports. The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which compiled the draft report, says that how much the administration can do to cut emissions beyond merely slowing the rate of increase with become clear ‘as the science justifies’. The draft report comes one month after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued their strongest warning to date. Full ENS Newswire report