AMBASSADOR'S
CORNER
Bruton: To combat climate change, everyone needs to take action
John Bruton, EUROPEAN UNION AMBASSADOR TO THE
UNITED STATES
Austin American-Statesman, December 7,
2007
San Angelo
Standard Times, December 11, 2007
I recently heard of a pastor from a Baptist church
in Waco who urged his flock to use their cars less
as he was worried about climate change. The
message wasn't well received and the pastor was
told not to mess with their cars. "We are willing
to call for sacrifice on the part of others, but
not on ourselves," he concluded.
I too will speak about global warming on my visit
to your state. And like the pastor from Waco, it
has me worried as well. A recent report by a
United Nations expert panel shows that the Earth's
average temperatures have risen 1.3 degrees
Fahrenheit in the last 100 years, and that 11 of
the last 12 years have been among the warmest
since 1850. The warming is partly due to the
greenhouse gases we have released into the Earth's
atmosphere and the latest data from the World
Meteorological Organization show that those gases
reached a record high in 2006.
The good news is that we no longer have to debate
whether climate change is truly happening. The
evidence is simply too overwhelming for anyone but
the most stubborn flat-earther to deny.
The Environmental Protection Agency has studied
the effects of climate change on the state of
Texas and their grim conclusions seem in line with
predictions for Europe. Rising sea levels will not
only lead to the loss of coastal wetlands and
property, but also the contamination of drinking
water and a decline in fish and shellfish. At the
same time, we can expect increasingly severe
drought and floods. As someone who grew up on a
farm, I am well aware of the trouble that this
spells for farmers. This goes beyond regular
complaints by farmers that there is either too
much or too little rain as the harsh reality of
global warming will make their crops wither away
in ways we haven't seen before. The EPA predicts
wheat yields in Texas could be reduced by almost
70 percent.
Since the early 1990s, the European Union has
continually sought to limit greenhouse gas
emissions through greater energy efficiency and
the use of renewable energy sources. It has begun
to work for us. In 1997, the EU-member states
signed up to the Kyoto protocol and pledged to
reduce their greenhouse gas emission by eight
percent by 2010 compared to 1990 levels. They are
on track to reaching that goal – all while keeping
their economies growing.
But since climate change is a global problem, it
requires all of us to step up to the plate and
make some serious changes. Our efforts, however
impressive, will be in vain if we don't have
Texas, China, Russia and the rest of the world on
board.
A UN climate change conference in Bali is
currently underway with 187 countries
participating. The European Union is pushing for a
future international agreement that will limit
global warming to no more than 3.6 degrees
Fahrenheit above the pre-industrial temperature –
anything above that, experts warn us, puts our
planet at serious risk. To achieve this, we need
to drastically cut emissions. Regardless of what
other countries decide to do, the European Union
has already announced that we will reduce our
emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.
And if other developed countries join us, we stand
ready to make a 30 percent reduction. Emerging
economies will also have to make an effort, but
long established industrial economies need to take
the lead because it is our wasteful ways that have
caused much of the problem in the first place.
Of course it will not be easy to achieve and it
certainly will require us to make sacrifices for
the common good. As the pastor from Waco
discovered, that is not an easy thing to do.
However, the choice is very simple: we either act
now or it will soon be too late to act at all.
