Gay Today: Technology

European Poll Shows Support
for Climate Treaty Without USA

Environmental News Service

BRUSSELS, Belgium - More than 80 percent of respondents to a new public opinion poll in four European countries want their governments to go ahead with the Kyoto climate change protocol whether the United States is involved or not.

The poll results were released today by the World Wide Fund for Nature, an international conservation organization which supports the Kyoto Protocol.

Italy and the rest of Europe are looking at going ahead with the Kyoto Treaty despite Mr. Bush's reluctance

The United States signed the 1997 protocol limiting the emission of greenhouse gases during the administration of former President Bill Clinton. In March, soon after taking office, President George W. Bush repudiated the treaty, and yesterday repeated that it is "fatally flawed."

WWF says the new public opinion poll is "an important signal" to European heads of government who will hold a one day meeting on climate change with President Bush in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 14.

The results from the four European Union countries in the survey - Belgium, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom - show that over 80 percent of respondents want their governments to go ahead with the Kyoto Protocol.

Those Europeans polled strongly believe that leading industrialized countries like Japan and Canada should break ranks with the United States and back the European Union in its support of the protocol. Support for this position ranges from 46.7 percent of respondents in Italy up to 91.3 percent of respondents in Spain.

Those surveyed tend to be even more strongly in favor of their own governments doing more to reduce their country's own global warming pollution. Support for stronger domestic action ranges from 77.6 percent of those surveyed in Belgium to 95.7 percent of those in Spain.

"These are powerful findings which Europe's political leaders must not ignore when they sit down with President Bush," said Andrew Kerr, communications manager of WWF's Climate Change Campaign.

WWF selected the four countries for the survey based on the political dynamics of European Union member states.

Copenhagen, Denmark
Photo: George Ferencz

Belgium takes over the six month rotating European Union Presidency from Sweden on July 1, and will lead the EU at mid-July's crucial global climate summit being held in Bonn, Germany. The purpose of the July summit is to finalize rules for limitation of greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto climate treaty.

Brussels is not only the capital city of Belgium but also of the Europe Union. At the heart of the city is the Grand'Place square.

Unless the Belgian Presidency, through the European Union, exerts strong international leadership in July, there is a danger of the Kyoto treaty collapsing again as it did last November.

Italy was selected out of concern that the newly elected Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi is taking a more pro-U.S. line than its predecessor, which could undermine EU solidarity. In addition, Italy is hosting the G8 heads of government summit, which falls on the crucial middle weekend of the Bonn climate summit.

Spain was selected because the government has allowed the increase in global warming gases to already exceed its allowance for 2010 under the Kyoto treaty.

The United Kingdom was selected because of the country's general election of June 7, which returned the Labour Government of Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, 39 industrialized nations, including the United States, agreed to cut their emissions of six greenhouse gases linked to global warming. They must reduce emissions to an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels during the five year period 2008 to 2012.

The Bush administration has objected that the emissions of developing nations are not governed under the Kyoto Protocol, but a process extending the emissions limits in subsequent negotiations to nations such as China, India, and Brazil is provided for within the climate treaty.

The Kyoto Protocol will not take effect until it is ratified by 55 percent of the nations emitting at least 55 percent of the six greenhouse gases. Since the United States emits roughly one-quarter of all greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, ratification by the United States has been considered essential to entry into force of the protocol.