Kyoto: che il governo ne stia facendo una giusta?!

[Stonewall]

03.03.04 Italy repeats Kyoto fears at EU Council


Italy has repeated its efforts to brake the forward momentum of agreed EU policy to implement Kyoto protocol-inspired greenhouse gas emission cuts before the treaty itself enters into force.

Read the ENDS report here

At a ministerial meeting in Brussels on Tuesday environment minister Altero Matteoli made a prolonged attempt to force a declaration from his colleagues that future emission-cutting action should depend on the treaty being ratified by Russia and thus entering into force, Environment Daily reports.

The move follows increasing unrest in Italian industry circles at the imminent prospect of the greenhouse gas curbs under the EU climate emissions trading system. The Italian government first reflected this last December when it tried to characterise Kyoto explicitly as a threat to business at a summit of EU leaders.

Tuesday's statement by environment ministers is their contribution to EU leaders' next summit later this month. It calls for the European Commission to provide by March 2005 a cost-benefit analysis of implementing mid- and longer term emission reduction targets and to propose as soon as possible further specific measures.

It is these demands that Italy wanted to make conditional on Kyoto's entry-into-force, sources told Environment Daily. Mr Matteoli claimed after the meeting he had been supported by Spain and to a lesser extent Finland, where doubts over EU climate policy have recently surfaced. Nevertheless, the final text was adopted unanimously.

Irish environment minister and council president Martin Cullen insisted at a post-council press conference that ministers remained united in their absolutely determined commitment to the Kyoto protocol and that there had been no debate about alternatives to the global pact.

But he implicitly acknowledged the reservations being expressed: some aspects of Kyoto seem insurmountable in the short-term time frame, he said, but the long-term economics benefits in prompting energy-efficiency were clear.

EU environment commissioner Margot Wallstrm said a difficult and controversial debate was beginning on the emission trading scheme's national allocation plans, and this would definitely come back in future discussions on climate policy.

[ARI6]

Credo che l'ostilità nei confronti di Kioto sia un dato di fatto.
Il problema potrà sorgere se questa ostilità verrà pubblicizzata: in quel caso la paura di una posizione troppo impopolare potrebbe far cambiare idea al governo. Sempre che l'opinione pubblica si sia bevuta tutte le fanfaluche ambientaliste, della qual cosa però sono fermamente convinto.