Italian Senate Calls for Realism on Climate

April 21, 2010

Reassessment and renegotiation

Carlo Stagnaro of Istituto Bruno Leoni reports:

The Italian Senate stands for climate realism. A motion passed on last Wednesday commits the Italian government to promote a sound discussion on climate policies with the European Union and the United Nations, with particular regard to the major changes that have occurred after the economic recession, the Climategate scandal, and the failure to reach a global deal in Copenhagen. In fact, the Senate asks both that the current commitments under the EU climate and energy package are re-negotiated, and that an independent investigation is started on the IPCC process.

The motion presented by Senators Antonio D’Alì (chairman of the Environment Committee) and Guido Possa (chairman of the University and Education Committee) as well as many other center-right colleagues, asks the government, among the other things:

• To call for an independent investigation into the IPCC methods used to review scientific literature on climate change, as well as on its governance and its officials;
• To set up a new governance for IPCC, in order to turn it into a truly scientific body, rather than a mostly political one;
• To review the consequences of the EU’s so-called “20-20-20” agenda, that calls for 20% emissions cuts, 20% more energy efficiency, and 20% renewables by 2020, as well as to obtain assurance that the targets will not be made more stringent (i.e., the emissions reduction target will not be raised up to 30% below 1990 levels);
• To prioritize the EU and UN policies with respect to more urgent environmental challenges, such as air and water pollution, waste management, etc.

lees hele artikel -> cfact.eu

France awaits clearer EU strategy on e-cars

Published: 21 April 2010

France’s ambitious national strategy on electric cars is awaiting a clearer position from the European Union, EurActiv France reports.

Thanks to state support, the classic automobile market in France grew by 10.8% in March 2010 – a considerable leap – but the government is hedging its bets on “de-carbonised” vehicles.

French Ecology and Transport Minister Jean-Louis Borloo unveiled a national strategy in October 2009, with 14 concrete steps to encourage the development of electric and rechargeable hybrid cars.

The objective is to put two million electric vehicles on France’s roads by 2020.

Earlier this month, Borloo and Industry Minister Christian Estrosi stated that ”12 out of the 14 planned steps are now in process”.

”We are the first and the most organised in the European Union’,’ the two ministers added.

The ministers signed a charter with 12 local authorities and car manufacturers PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault, with the aim of making electric and rechargeable hybrid cars accessible to the public in 2010. Financial support of some €2.5 billion should be provided to the sector.

People buying an electric car will also receive a grant of €5,000. To help establish a market for electric cars, the French state said it will place 100,000 orders for new vehicles. Borloo announced the formation of a group – including EDF, SNCF, Air France, France Télécom and La Poste – which will order an initial 50,000 vehicles. A call for tender will open on 23 April.

Brussels preparing legislative package

Meanwhile in Brussels, EU Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani is preparing to unveil an electric car strategy next Tuesday (27 April).

Lees hele artikel -> www.euractiv.com

Italy joins French calls for EU carbon tariff

Published: 16 April 2010 | Updated: 19 April 2010

France and Italy urged the European Union on Thursday (15 April) to impose carbon tariffs on countries that are not part of a global agreement to curb greenhouse gases, an idea opposed by the European Commission and other EU members.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said in a letter to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso that the Commission should include the measures in a report due in June on carbon-emitting sectors.

Some EU members are worried that their industries, which pay for permits to emit carbon dioxide, will lose out to cheaper imports from countries that impose no such charges.

“European law [...] foresees the possibility of including importers in the European system for trading emission quotas,” Sarkozy and Berlusconi said in the joint letter.

“The Commission report should define the conditions in which such an adjustment mechanism should be applied to EU borders.”

Germany last year criticised the idea of carbon tariffs as “eco-imperialism”, saying they would be a direct violation of World Trade Organisation rules.

Lees hele artikel -> www.euractiv.com

De Boer: EU 2020 climate targets ‘a piece of cake’

Published: 16 April 2010 | Updated: 19 April 2010

Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said the EU has failed to convince the developing world that it is serious about global warming.

Speaking in an unusually candid manner during a European Parliament hearing on Wednesday (14 April), De Boer said the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen last year had been dominated by a sense of “suspicion”.

The December UN conference ended with a loose agreement, the Copenhagen Accord, which left Europeans “disappointed” because it contained no firm commitment from world nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“A lot of the reason why this process has been moving so slowly is because of suspicion, especially on the part of developing counties,” said De Boer, who will step down from the UNFCCC in July to take an advising role at consulting firm KPMG.

“Trust just isn’t there.”

Lees hele artikel -> www.euractiv.com