EU not so green ...

In a recent issue of the EUobserver:

"New figures released on Thursday have revealed that the EU is falling far short of reaching its emissions targets under the international climate change treaty, the Kyoto Protocol.

Instead greenhouse gas pollution rose for the second year in a row, according to the Copenhagen-based European Environment Agency.

Emissions of climate changing greenhouse gases from the whole of the EU increased by 18 million tonnes (0.4%) between 2003 and 2004 while emissions from the EU-15 increased by 11.5 million tonnes (0.3%) in the same period."

The greenhouse gas emission trade system was supposed to put a cap on these emissions but the allowances have been higher than the actual release so it has had no positive effect, although a few countries ( Germany, Denmark and Finland) have managed to decrease their emission although probably not within the Kyoto protocol limits ...