German CO2 Below EU Target, But Canada's Ambrose Whines Kyoto "Impossible"

COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Carbon dioxide emissions from top EU polluter Germany fell 25.5 million tonnes short of levels permitted under the bloc's trading scheme, an EU Web site said on Friday, sending carbon prices to a one-year low.

To link to the Web site please click on http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ets.

The European Union's executive body will report on Monday on the first year of the 25-nation bloc's emissions trading scheme, which sets limits on how much CO2 high-polluting industries may emit. It will release 2005 emissions figures for 21 countries.

The Commission had no comment on the data for Germany and other nations that appeared on the Web site before Monday's release date. The quotas are part of an EU trading scheme designed to reduce output of greenhouse gases in line with Europe's commitment to the Kyoto protocol.

The Web site showed Britain's emissions came in 31.3 million tonnes above its allocation. Spain was 9.1 million tonnes above quota and Italy was 5.66 million tonnes above target. The Czech Republic, Portugal, Belgium and Hungary were all below quota.



EDIT

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1954165

And at the same time, in Canada . . .

OTTAWA - Environment Minister Rona Ambrose is taking her criticism of the Kyoto protocol to the international stage next week, as chair of United Nations discussions on climate change in Bonn, Germany. Responding to an opposition motion demanding the government respect the Kyoto agreement's targets for greenhouse gas reductions, and deliver an action plan by the fall, Ambrose insisted other countries already understand Canada has no chance of meeting the protocol's requirements.

"They're well aware of the challenges that Canada is facing with an unrealistic target that was negotiated by the Liberals in a very political manner," Ambrose said in Parliament Thursday. "They understand our desire to co-operate with our international partners to find better ways, more realistic ways, more tangible ways to reduce greenhouse gases, and many of our international counterparts are facing the same challenges."

Environmental groups have called for Ambrose to resign her position as chair of the international discussions, arguing she would sabotage progress in the battle against climate change. But Ambrose responded by renewing her criticism of the agreement's conditions. In 2004, she said Canada's greenhouse gas emissions were nearly 35 per cent above its Kyoto target.

"We could shut all the lights off in Canada tomorrow, but that still wouldn't be enough," she said. "To reach our Kyoto target, we'd have to shut off all the lights and shut down the entire agriculture industry." Opposition parties accused Ambrose of misleading Canadians with phoney claims that are also hurting her credibility on the international stage.

EDIT

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=54c674ea-230b-45b9-9bbe-267621582826&k=21837

"The only way to reduce GHG emissions is to shut everything down! And live in mud huts!"

Apparently Rona hasn't heard that there are ways to produce energy without oxidizing fossilized hydrocarbons.

will work without getting thirty nations to hurt their industries in the short run.

i like kyoto, but it wont work.

I think the shuttle could carry enough in one mission. But I think we had best not block the sun, especially since that would have many unintended consequences.

I did the math for another thread. The beast would be 2½ times the size of the USA...

And last time I looked, we won't even HAVE anything capable of reaching even LEO once the shuttles wrap up their lifetime - is it in 2008 or 2009?

surpise, New Germany is below its quota,

I can't believe anybody is stupid enough
to believe this rubbish.

All of (or at least, most of) the former Soviet-block states have been excellent performers under Kyoto, as they've shed their crappy manufacturing plants: most them had huge emission cuts in the '90s but are now building up again.

Still, there's some states like Finland showing it is actually possible to cut emissions through "normal" means.