and you EUROWeinies Called us Americans Stupid for not agreeing to it.
Posted on 11/06/2005 7:52:21 PM PST by nypokerface
LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's push to meet pollution targets agreed under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change could dent its economies and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2010, according to research published on Monday.
Compliance with Kyoto's greenhouse gas reduction targets could hit gross domestic product in Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy as energy energy bills soar, said pro-business thinktank International Council for Capital Formation (ICCF).
"The findings of our research suggest that an alternative approach (to climate change) is urgently needed for both the developing and developed world," said Margo Thorning, Managing Director of the Brussels-based ICCF.
ICCF predicted the loss of at least 200,000 jobs in each of Italy, Germany, Britain and Spain as governments chase greenhouse gas reduction targets set out under Kyoto, which came into force in February.
Average increases of 26 percent in electricity prices and 41 prices in gas prices by 2010 were also predicted in the ICCF's study.
Germany's gross domestic product ( GDP) could be reduced by 0.8 percent from base case levels by 2010, with Spain and Britain suffering reductions of 3.1 percent and 1.1 percent respectively, the ICCF said.
The United States has refused to sign up to Kyoto, saying it could damage the U.S. economy.
Thorning said the ICCF's findings supported recent comments by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said last week that the world may need to move away from target-based climate change policies after Kyoto's first phase ends in 2012.
Later this month, United Nations talks on climate change will take place in Montreal, the first formal talks over how to approach the issue after 2012.
"A cooperative global approach to reducing emission growth is more likely to produce real emissions reductions, without damaging economic growth in the EU and elsewhere," said the ICCF's Thorning.
"The United States has refused to sign up to Kyoto, saying it could damage the U.S. economy."
Thank you GW.
I wonder how many greenhouse gasses those burning cars are releasing?
and you EUROWeinies Called us Americans Stupid for not agreeing to it.
I have an alternative approach. Do nothing. It will have exactly the same effect on global warming.
That didn't take long, now did it?
Why is this such a big deal? Everyone knows American cows don't have flatulence, they're too pretty..
Like there's going to be a Europe left at this rate? I'd think the heat from all those fires would warm them more than some miniscule amount ot CO2.
That's the whole intent of the Kyoto Fiasco.
That's the whole intent of the Kyoto Fiasco.
Bush did not do this. It was done by Congress under Clinton.
I apologize for the echo. Finger was too quick on the draw.
"I have an alternative approach. Do nothing. It will have exactly the same effect on global warming."
Ditto.
There is only one problem with this article:
The author assumes that the European nations which signed the Kyoto Agreement were serious about reducing their green house gas emissions. It is better than even money that most, if not all, of the European nations that signed Kyoto had no intention to abide by the terms of Kyoto.
IMHO I think the whole Kyoto effort was a cheap attempt to shut down the American economic machine. There isn’t a nation, or long term group of nations that can compete with America without our ACTIVE support. Kyoto was the first of many attempts by the rest of the world to shut down the American economic machine.
Kyoto Treaty = prevent a hypothetical by destroying real jobs and lowering the standard of living.
That is the heart of radical environmentalism.
All this baloney about removing CO2 from combustion gases, or carbon from fossil fuels. Still no solution to where to put all of the CO2 that is captured. It's always been half a solution, and wouldn't prevent global warming even if CO2 capture (and retention) were practical. The majority of the global warming is due to cycles in the sun's intensity. Capturing CO2 won't put a dent in it.
Alternative energy sources (solar, wind, etc.) are either very expensive or can only supply a small portion of the energy needs. Nuclear energy is the only practical alternative to fossil fuels, and not many people want to jump on that bandwagon these days.
And the Euros are finally acknowledging the obvious. Not only are their attempts at stopping global warming futile, but those half-assed attempts are very damaging to the economy. This is a clear demonstration of what happens when a political agenda (rabid socialist environmentalism) trumps science and engineering. The shame of it is how many of the technical folks signed onto this stuff because they had succumbed to the rhetoric from the Left.
This was targeted at the USA but the Senate refused it, 98-1-1, I think. Slick Willie signed it but the Senate wouldn't go along. Bush quashed it from the executive point of view when he took office.
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