OPINION/COMMENTARY

Europe's Rising Emissions

How is Europe responding to the challenge of global warming? With more global warming. That may seem incongruous given all of the EU's Kyoto hype, but take a look at the latest report from the European Environmental Agency on EU greenhouse gas emissions. In it we learn that between 2002 and 2003 emissions have increased by 53 million tons, i.e. 1.3 percent, in the EU-15 after having fallen for two years in a row. Basically all of the reductions achieved in 2001 and 2002 have been lost. according to the EEA, "The emission increase in 2003 was mainly caused by an increase in power production using coal. The colder weather in the first quarter in several EU countries, also contributed to an increased use of fossil fuels to heat homes and offices." This tells us two important things: on the one hand, despite their environmental rhetoric, European countries aren't able to promote non-carbon based fuels; on the other hand, a colder winter (are we talking about global warming?) drove emissions up, whereas in 2002 a warm summer resulted in less emissions. It seems that there is a sort of built-in mechanism that pushes emissions up in cold periods and pulls them down in warm periods. Of course that is obvious as you look at the market itself: people seek a comfortable environment, purely and simply, which may mean they have to heat their houses. Now, a mandatory reduction in European emissions means that (assuming humans have no control over climate, which is a very easy assumption) we have three possible scenarios....

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