Archived press release

EU Must Toughen Stance on Climate Outlaw Bush

14 December 2004

As EU Ministers meet for climate talks in Buenos Aires, Argentina, (Wednesday 15^th) Friends of the Earth called for a tougher stance on the United States over its rejection of the on Kyoto Protocol. The EU must also lead the debate on new and tougher targets to supplement Kyoto after 2012, the organisation said.

Friends of the Earth Executive Director Tony Juniper said:

"The EU delegation's involvement at these climate talks so far has been to leave the floor to those who want to delay or prevent further action, which puts those most vulnerable to climate change at greater risk.

"They must get tough with the United States, including threatening to introduce import taxes on energy-intensive US products as long as the US refuse to fight climate change. And EU firms, a small number of which may find themselves at a slight competitive disadvantage, should push for trade sanctions to be put in place,instead of lobbying against progress."

The environmental organisation argued that trade sanctions are inline with current international trade rules and even have a precedent in the US Superfund [3].

Notes

[1] This meeting is the first Climate Change meeting since Russian ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the only international treaty aimed at reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases by about 5% until 2012. The treaty will enter into force upon its 128 Parties on 16 February 2005 legally binding thirty industrialised nations to meet quantitative targets for reducing or limiting their greenhouse gas emissions.

[2] While on the one hand the US have explicitly stated they have no intention to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the Bush administration nevertheless tries to convince the world it is acting on climate change, e.g. showcasing a plan to reduce US emissions intensity by 18% by 2012, overlooking the fact that according to the plan absolute emissions will be up 32% by then.

[3] The US Superfund had been established to clean up toxic industrial sites in the US and is funded by payments from the US chemical industry. EU companies have to contribute through import taxes when selling products in the United States. For more information on introducing trade measures see "Free Riding on the Climate", briefing by the New Economics Foundation, London,

www.neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_PublicationDetail.aspx?pid=167

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust