Policy Focus

Explorer urges EU to address ‘weaknesses’ in emissions trading

The EU has been urged to "weed out" shortcomings in theemissions trading scheme (ETS) in order to effectively tackleclimate change.

A Brussels conference on Wednesday welcomed EU efforts to minimisethe impact of global warming, including setting targets for cuttingCO2 emissions by 20 per cent by 2020.

But Norwegian polar explorer Monica Kristensen, a keynote speakerat the event, said the ETS contained "weaknesses" which need to beaddressed.

"I believe most people are willing to change their lifestyles inorder to help meet the challenge of climate change but we needlegislation which is genuinely effective," she said.

The ETS allocates a number of permits to operators, each givingthem the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide per year.

Since 2005, some 10,000 large industrial plants in the EU have beenrequired to buy and sell permits to release dioxide into theatmosphere.

The scheme enables companies exceeding individual CO2 emissionstargets to buy allowances from 'greener' ones and help reach the EUtargets under the Kyoto protocol.

Kristensen, an Oslo-based glaciologist, told the conference at thecommittee of the regions that when it comes to tackling climatechange, there are two scenarios facing policymakers: one is toallow greenhouse gas emissions to become out of control, and theother is the sudden onset of a new Ice Age.

This, she said, would involve a severe cooling period inScandinavia and western Europe, caused by a weakening of the gulfstream.

To those who still question the existence of global warming, shesaid, "Glaciers as well as sea ice and snow ice cover is vanishingfast so the evidence for global warming is clear cut.

"It is a man-made problem and most scientists are convinced of theexistence of global warming."

"The problem is that we need to remind people of this fact becausethe large-scale impact of climate change will not be seen foranother 20 to 30 years.

The event, looking at what the European banking sector should bedoing to help fight climate change, was partly organised by theEuropean saving banks group (ESBG).