EOW May 2007

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Going green or flying high?
S aving the environment is – quite rightly – becoming
more and more of an issue around the globe. Indeed,
for the UK’s main political parties the green issue is
certain to be part of a hard-fought campaign in the next
general election.
The reason I bring this up is two related stories that I’ve
read recently – one of which features in Dorothy Fabian’s
‘Transatlantic Cable’ section of this magazine.
Firstly, ‘Europe is set to cut emissions sharply if the US will
do likewise’, and secondly, ‘Open skies treaty’. The latter is
the one Dorothy mentions in her column.
The story I read in a national newspaper was about
European Union ministers pledging that their countries
will raise targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions
if other countries, like America, do the same. The story
in ‘Transatlantic Cable’ is the tale of the EU and the US
reaching an agreement on more transatlantic routes,
allowing budget airlines to fly to the States.
Is it me or is there something slightly contradictory about
the two stories? More flights and lower fares will, inevitably,
mean more greenhouse gases.
Leading the (green) way in Europe is Germany, whose
commitment to the environment is nothing short of
extraordinary.Whilst some of the 27-block EU countries stand
ready to cut emissions by 30% below 1990 levels, the leaders
of Europe’s biggest economy want it extended to 40%.
The European initiative is not exclusively ‘green’ in
motivation. If others, notably the US, adopt European-
style restrictions of emissions, it will help ensure the
global competitiveness of continental businesses at a
time when the EU is toughening its regulation of air travel,
car manufacturing and construction.
But there is no doubting the sincerity of the European
determination to arrest global warming.The environmental
federation ‘Friends of the Earth International’ reported that
while Finland, Poland and Hungary resisted the 20% target
in the renewable resources proposal, Sweden andDenmark
supported the 30% target.
The question is whether or not
such examples of European
virtue will be enough to coax (or
shame) the world’s two leading
energy gluttons – China and the
US – into joining in. On past
performance, the prospects
would seem rather dim.
David Bell
The International Magazine
for the Wire and Cable Industries
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