HoleInTheVoid
Active Member
- Sep 10, 2008
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Economic crisis threatens EU measures on climate change - Yahoo! NewsBRUXELLES (AFP) - The recent economic downturn could push the European Union to adopt more modest ambitions in its fight against climate change.
Although the European Commission has said it wants to cut greenhouse gases by 20 percent by 2020, business leaders oppose the use of fines to oblige industry to reduce its emissions -- especially in the current economic crisis.
The cost to industry is estimated at some 44 billion euros per year between 2013 and 2020, with a tonne (1.1 US tons) of C02 costing 30 euros.
Business leaders have denounced the policy as a "tax", threatening to take their investments elsewhere and move their more polluting activities out of Europe.
Faced with the threat of job losses, governments are feeling the pressure.
"As the economic situation becomes more challenging, it's normal that government becomes more defensive on climate change as the required efforts will lead to additional costs in the short term," a senior Commission official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
A number of European politicians are now speaking openly about diluting, or even abandoning the project.
heh
If memory serves: Kyoto turfed it in the US senate by what? 98 to 0?
heh