Template vs Reality

Global warming to devastate Europe first

Europe has to continue to lead worldwide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but this report also underlines that strategies are needed at European, regional, national and local level to adapt to climate change, says Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the EEA, based in Denmark. This is a phenomenon that will considerably affect our societies and environments for decades and centuries to come

What the report shows is that, if we go on as we are, we have less than 50 years before we encounter conditions which will be uncharted and potentially hazardous, she told the BBC.

Yeah, right...and Malthus told us we'd all be eating Soylent Green by now too.

So far 123 countries, including all the EU member states, have ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to reduce their emissions of six greenhouse gases by 5 per cent by 2012

Of course, if you actually consider SIGNING as important as DOING, then you'd be thick enough to accept this malarkey. Check this article to see that the Europeans may talk a good game, but they haven't lived up to what they already signed anyway.

European Union coal subsidies extended
On July 25, the very same week that world leaders signed up to a modified Kyoto protocol in Bonn, and lambasted the United States for declining to do the same, the European Union had an opportunity to do something tangible about global warming.

For years EU governments have been subsidising coal, the filthiest and most carbon-intensive fuel, for electricity generation.

The sums involved are huge. From 1995 to 1998, Germany, France and Spain alone provided over $23 billion of state support for coal production. Britain under the Conservatives and to start with New Labour has sinned less in this respect, although last year the Blair government doled out $200 million to RJB mining the successor to the former British Coal.

Recognising this the EU agreed some time ago to phase out all such subsidies by 2002.

So what did the saviours of the planet do on July 25? You've guessed. They decided to delay the phase out for another ten years!

If you really thought you'd be the first to get scorched by the Sun in 50 years, you'd do best to set a great example for the rest of us. But not so, let's pile on.

The EU as a whole is committed to reducing emissions by 8% on their 1990 levels by between 2008 and 2012.

On present trends, it appears to stand almost no chance of keeping its promise.

The prominent UK global warming sceptic Professor Philip Stott commented: "One of the most galling things about the whole climate change debate has been European duplicity.
"While lecturing everybody else, especially America, on the morality of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it has been abundantly clear from the start that most European countries didn't have a snowflake in hell's chance of meeting their own Kyoto targets."

Secondly, anyone want to wager which country is developing the best emissions reducing technology? Hint, you can't work 35/hours a week and shrink your population and expect to be very successful.
But here comes the best two parts...

But the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases - the US - has refused to sign.

and the descent into utter stupidity...

Climate change is as big a threat to people and the planet as international terrorism.