Home > Press releases > Archived press releases > 2003 > Urgent action needed to meet kyoto targets
1 March 2003
Friends of the Earth urged the Government to take urgent action to develop Britain's renewable energy sector, following the publication of a report today [1] warning that Britain may not meet its targets for reducing greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol.
The report from research group Cambridge Econometrics says that growing energy demand means that Britain will not succeed in reducing greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent by 2010 unless it joins the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
The report also states that the Government's target of a 20 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2010 - as outlined in the White Paper earlier this week - "appears to be out of reach without significant policy measures".
Commenting on the report, Friends of the Earth Climate Campaigner Roger Higman said:
"This report shows the dangers of complacency over climate change. Promises to cut pollution in the long term are vital, but they cannot substitute for the action needed to cut emissions now. If we do not see more renewable power schemes, more combined heat and power projects, the closure of inefficient coal-fired power plants and measures to tackle traffic growth, the commitments we have made under the Kyoto Protocol will not be met."
[1] UK Energy and the Environment, Cambridge Econometrics, 28 February 2003 - see www.camecon.co.uk
For further information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.
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