John
Bruton
No. 17/05
February 16, 2005
STATEMENT BY
AMBASSADOR JOHN BRUTON ON CLIMATE CHANGE
WASHINGTON, DC
Ambassador John
Bruton, Head of the EU
Commission Delegation in Washington, today welcomed
the entry into force of the Kyoto
Protocol by 141 nations as an important step in the
fight against climate change. Speaking to journalists in
Washington, he said the EU is already implementing an ambitious
emissions
trading scheme since January 1 and on track to meeting
its Kyoto CO2 emission reduction commitments,
while planning further steps to fight climate change after
2012 when the first commitment phase of the Kyoto Protocol
expires.
Ambassador Bruton also said that he regarded it as positive
that the issue of climate change will be on the agenda when
President
Bush meets with EU leaders in Brussels on February 22.
To illustrate the EU Commission’s commitment
to fighting climate change globally and locally, Ambassador
Bruton announced that the EU Delegation in Washington, as
well as his private Residence, would switch for a substantial
part of their energy needs to electricity generated on a
wind farm in West Virginia, and he paid tribute to US electricity
regulators for making it possible for users to buy electricity
from renewable sources.
Ambassador Bruton’s statement follows:
1. Science and climate change. Full and conclusive
science may not yet be available as to what all the causes
are, but climate change is happening. Over the past century,
global temperature has risen by 0.6° C. The 10 warmest years
on record all occurred after 1991. Ice in the Arctic is
melting (7% over the last 30 years), etc., etc. Recent alarming
reports such as the Arctic Council report and the report
from the International Climate Change Taskforce provide
further evidence that the cause is likely to be the emissions
from greenhouse gases from human activities.
2. Economic and social impact of climate change.
The UN Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change has estimated
that a rise in global temperature with “only” 2.5° C will
cost 1.5-2% of global GDP in terms of damage. A recent study
from Cambridge University indicates costs may be around
74 trillion euro or 92.5 trillion dollars. Other than direct
costs (because of extreme weather events, increased water
stress, public health issues), impacts may be resulting
from desertification of currently fertile soil, migration
of parts of the population (Alaska), lower agricultural
yields in some places and higher ones elsewhere, security
issues, etc.
According to US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) scientists, continued elevated carbon dioxide
concentrations in the atmosphere may reduce forage quality
among the world's grasslands and lead to a reduction in
weight gain among animals. That study was conducted in Colorado.
3. Technological development is crucial for realizing
a climate-compatible emission pathway but is not sufficient.
The EU is of the opinion that a wide portfolio of technological
options needs to be explored and that the application of
already available technologies for energy saving and efficiency
need to be maximized. There is no one “silver bullet” technology
available to address the replacement of fossil fuels. The
EU is happy to continue its close collaboration with the
USA on R & D on hydrogen and fuel cells, carbon sequestration
and other technological development. However, it needs to
be realized that
- even with major government support
for R & D, technologies will not be developed at all,
or will be developed too slowly, unless there are concrete
signals from government on (future) regulatory action;
- it may take 40-50 years before
some of these technologies are available for commercial
use;
- market penetration of these
technologies will not get off the ground unless economic
instruments are in place to ensure a level playing field;
- and, very importantly,
the effect of those measures on the actual climate may
take 100 years to take effect because of the slow reactions
by the climate system. Today, climate change is the result
of events in the early part of the twentieth century.
There are no “quick fixes.”
We cannot wait
for new technologies. Energy savings and efficiency and
the use of renewable energy must be stimulated now. This
also makes sense from an economic point of view because
it helps achieve energy security--reduces the dependency
from import of fossil fuels from politically unstable regions.
4. Post-Kyoto. On February 9, 2005, the European
Commission made its proposals on discussion on what (global)
action is needed post-2012,
when the current Kyoto Protocol expires. The EU should continue
to lead multilateral efforts to address climate change,
but will identify incentives to encourage other major emitting
countries, including developing countries, to come on board
and start improving the energy efficiency of their economies
too and eliminating emissions that would otherwise occur.
During 2005, the Commission will explore options for a future
regime based on common but differentiated responsibilities.
Clearly, developing countries have the right to develop,
but they should do so along sustainable emission paths.
The US and the EU should cooperate to assist these countries.
At the same time, developed countries should drastically
cut their emissions towards a carbon low-growth path, for
good economic reasons and given their responsibility for
the vast majority of historical emissions.
5. EU-US policy cooperation. The EU looks forward
to stepping up cooperation
with the US at federal and other levels on climate change
issues, not only on R & D but also on the highly needed
policy responses to global warming. We welcome the opportunity
to discuss these issues further during the visit of President
Bush to the EU beginning of next week.
Further Contact Information
Press and Media Relations
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
