Europeans Missing Their Kyoto Targets

Britain and Sweden are the only European countries honouring their Kyoto commitments to cut greenhouse gasses, according to a think-tank report.

Although the US is portrayed as the ecological villain for refusing to sign up to the agreement, 10 out of the 15 European Union signatories - including Ireland, Italy and Spain - will miss their targets without urgent action, the Institute for Public Policy Research found.

France, Greece and Germany are given "amber warnings" and will only achieve the objectives if planned policies are successfully carried out.

Recent figures show carbon dioxide emissions increasing in 13 out of the 15 countries, including Britain, the report says.

It's easy and popular to blame the US for the worlds problems, but in most cases as in this no other nation is doing anything different. In the case of global warming a question remains as to what the cause really is. More important to this issue is the solution offered is dubious since Kyoto does not make its requirements universal. If this treaty were an effective remedy then all nations should be involved. One can conclude that there is some other goal involved in the effort to get the west to adhere to the protocol.

There is reasonable evidence that global warming is more a function of earth's climatic cycle rather than a man made disaster. Mankind flatters himself that he can have an effect on the weather either good or bad. The planet has a way of swallowing up evidence of our past, modern man should not expect less.

Personally, I find it hard to find to be negative about global warming. Sure the coastal areas will be flooded, but there is vast land areas in the northern hemisphere that could be opened to agriculture and development. It is offered that the great advances of the classical period was facilitated by a warmer climate than what occurred during the dark ages.

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