http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12771308&source=features_box1Today, at a summit in Europe
"on Friday December 12th, as they agreed that Europe would take a global lead in fighting climate change. But they also agreed to protect local heavy industry if the world’s biggest polluters did not follow suit, starting with America."
" the final summit conclusions preserved those headline promises, as well as a pledge that the EU would make 30% cuts in emissions if other big polluters agree to their own binding carbon limits at an important international meeting to be held in Copenhagen at the end of 2009."
So Basically they said if the US does not try changing, they would be unwilling to take certain steps. The European countries decided to go with an ambitious plan which, "would involve cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 20% over 1990 levels, obtaining 20% of energy from renewables and making 20% savings in energy use over forecast levels, all by the year 2020." But given the state of things, concessions had to be made for poorer or countries (such as germany and Italy) that emit large amounts of green house gas. As for the US role, José Manuel Barroso said to the US, "to join Europe and with us lead the world".
However, the US still has not even ratified the Kyoto Protocol, a widely accepted plan to reduce several greenhouse gases so it seems difficult to imagine that the US will respond well especially wth the current recession here. I personally, think that the US is long due for doing something about this and as a European, it would be annoying to be doing all this work while the US does nothing. Furthermore, it is during a crisus that we see how comitted we are. After all, we can't fight climate change if every time something bad happens, conservation is flung to the bottom of the list. Anyway, I hope that Obama takes up their other to join them and lead the world
By the way, the picture shows how utterly alone we are in terms of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol
14 comments:
Although I am an environmentalist,I think now is not the time to put the environment on top of our priority list. As you may already know,we are currently facing a HUGE financial crisis and the government can't solve all these problems at the same time.
I know that neglecting the environment will have catastrophic effects in the long run, but I believe that we need to address the financial crisis first because if the economy continues to crash, we're all going to suffer.
I think this plan is a very good idea however the kyoto protocal was great as well. Coming from a president who owned an oil company I really dont think we would have gotten anywhere with the environment period and now since Obama is in office that will probably all change. Like the person said below me, I dont think we should worry about the environment completely because we have worst problems on our plate such as obviously our recession and I think alot have people have come to their senses already and started doing more for the environment and choosing more environmental friendly ways of living. This is definitely a green revolution so the environment problem will start working itself out without the help of the government although it would be nice to have that. Just leave it to the people.
I think we should go for it. Although I agree with John, that the environment should not be on the top of our list. However, it should be around the top. By taking this action, we are setting an example for other coutries. Taking action against global warming is one step to show our determination and leadership. The more we put off the enviornmental issue, the more it will catch us and bite us in the butt later on.
I definitely think the US is long overdue for something like this. While it will not be easy for our nation to handle this on top of all of the other problems we currently face, I believe we can do it. If a single president can pull us out of the largest financial crisis in the history of the US, then we can handle the current financial issues, as well as anything else the world throws at us. That being said, I do think that the rest of the world should be willing to take steps to fight global warming even without us. It seems a little childish to be unwilling to take certain steps without forcing the US into line. I have complete confidence that Obama will address the issue in due time. After all, he wants to withdraw form the Iraq war almost immediately, and not having to spend money on the war will help our financial situation enormously.
The Kyoto Protocols are highly important for our environment! What we are saying if we don't ratify them is that we won't let a few simple restrictions be applied to us to save the future of the world environment. Also, our status as a world leader makes this even worse, as we will be distancing ourselves from the world even more than the Iraq war has...
I disagree with you, John. I think that now is exactly the time to put the environment on top of our priority list. With the instability of jobs and the economic crisis, I think what the country needs right now is the equivalent of the New Deal. If Obama follows through with his campaign promise to create a "green economy" that could be just the boost this country needs to start heading out of this recession.
I think this plan will not only positively change the economic downturn, but also it will replace some of the respect America lost during the Bush administration. By joining in on this environmental plan, the U.S will show that it has placed the needs of the world and all its citizens over the immeadiate needs of oil companies and business and it will start to take responsibility for its part in global warming.
"I know that neglecting the environment will have catastrophic effects in the long run..."
I think if we know what's coming and we know we have the capability of making it better, we should take action, especially when it comes to the environment because we've put it off for so long.
If Obama is going to go through with the motto, "Change," then I believe taking significant environmental action is a necessary change. Let's face it; the US as a country is extremely low on the list when it comes to amount of effective action taken against environmental problems. This is a huge problem, considering that the US is one of the world's largest contributers to emissions. Also, if European nations are saying they won't do anything if the US doesn't take action, then we most certainly should join this. If we don't join, other countries will follow the U.S.'s actions and then it'll turn into a downward snowball effect of more countries not taking environmental action and even worse environmental conditions. This is a global issue and we can't be ignorant and let our pollution and such affect other countries negatively; theirs can potentially hurt us too..I agree with Doria that another good reason is that environmental action can stimulate the economy.
I agree with you Doria that we need something like the New Deal right now to get out of the recession. We need programs that will gove immediate relief to the unemployed, reform business practices, and rescue the economy. However, if we focus more on the environment that Joe the plumber who is struggling to make both ends meet and the thousands of unemployed Americans, these programs will not work. Setting stricter envi policies means higher cost of maintaing businesses envi-friendly. This will cripple many businesses especially the small ones. Trust me, I love the enviromnent but I think it is really difficult to protect the environment and help businesses prosper at the same time.
Doria, while I agree with you 100% in principle, my concern about using our current economic situation to create a more environmentally friendly society, is how to we get from A to B with as little pain as possible. It seems like the industries where most of our jobs are located, such as auto production, military/aviation production, and electrical engineering, require lots of warehouse manufacturing that causes emmissions. The problem is, how do we shape a greener society without causing what is left of these industries to crumble under the economic stress.
It is obvious that we need to make some kind of severe compromise where a 'green economy' would have a long transition period in order to allow American industry to catch up. In fact, although I may not personally agree with the idea of putting an environmental issue as second priority, the fact of the matter is, thats where all the big money is going to put its influence. And if we expect to see any kind of significant swing to a more environmentally friendly economy we are going to have to bend to the needs of the American Industry.
Has any watched the day the earth stood still? a great movie, not in acting but in trying to the point across to people on trying to make a difference to save the earth. In its own little way, it made me want to change my non-green habits. It really made me and the others i saw it with care a bit more about the earth. i know its a low chance of aliens coming and wipping out the human race, but at the same time we need to take car of this earth b/c w/o it we are nothing.
Joining europe and their plan as a strong nation that we are, we can help start saving the earth, before it gets worst. Yes we are in a financial crisis, but with all the jobs that would open up from building a greener economy, then our crisis will be much less than a crisis. It can help boost our situation while at the same time regaining our world power and setting a good example to others.
The problem with not putting the environment at the top of our list is the fact that it hasn't been a priority at all for the past eight years. Ironically during Bush's presidency we witnessed the most dramatic and drastic effects of climate change and global warming ever. The problem with waiting for our economy to become stable before we contribute to improving the quality of our environment is that nature wont wait for us to have more money and be financially secure. More species will become endangered and the harmful effects of ozone depletion will continue to harm not only humans, but other organisms as well. Yes we are in a financial crisis, but our CO2 emissions do not just have a negative effect on our country. The entire world shares this atmosphere and as the second highest emitter of CO2 its about time we do something to repair the damage we have already inflicted on our fragile ecosystem. I am incredibly embarrassed of the lack of initiative our nation's leaders have taken thus far to decrease the level at which we are abusing resources, wasting energy, and polluting. Obama has to do something and I'm confident that he will do more for the environment than Bush did, and if the Kyoto Protocol and this European plan are part of that then both would be solid steps in the right direction.
I think we should just go for it. The US is one of the most polluting countries, and one of the only to refuse to take action. Sure, we have a financial crisis on our hands, but is that really a legitimate excuse? Today it's the financial crisis; tomorrow it's something else. I think we should just face the problem. Honestly, I think that the environment is more important than the economy. The economy will always get better, but a lot of the damage done to the environment is irreversible.
Plus, focusing on the environment will create new jobs...new stable jobs.
Well there are reasons why we didn't sign the Kyoto Protocol. Reasons: the Bush Administration did not want to sign anything that did not have binding targets and timetables for both developing and industrialized nations. They also believed that this would hurt the economy. Well we are in a crisis right now so I couldn't predict whether we would have gotten into this mess earlier than now or this would have effected us worse now. I don't know. The US did try to do things for the environment but the Kyoto Protocol would have been a way to show that countries are unified in battling global warming. I think we should have signed the Kyoto just because the reasons for not signing aren't strong. This plan sounds great and we should sign it and be involved with other nations.
i tatally understand ueropes piont of view the US is the largest polluter and they are doing the least to stop their polution i would be more than annoyed with this if i was a european environmentalist. i also want to stress the fact that that we do not get a chance to experiance this polution because we live by the bay but people are dying in other parts of the world from polution.
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