Swift adoption of Commission proposals by Council and EP will help achieve Kyoto targets

As a new press release informs us, early adoption by Council and Parliament of the European Commission's legislative proposals on climate change can help to ensure the European Union meets its Kyoto Protocol targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said today. He was speaking ahead of tomorrow's third anniversary of the Protocol's entry into force. 
'The period during which the EU and other industrialised countries must meet our Kyoto emission targets - the 2008-2012 commitment period – started on 1 January this year,' Commissioner Dimas said. 'The most recent emission projections show we are on the right track, but the early adoption and implementation of proposals put forward by the Commission would help to ensure success. I am referring to legislation to reduce CO2 emissions from cars and fuels and the inclusion of aviation in the Emissions Trading System from 2011. Swift action on last month's climate action and renewable energy package will also give us an early start towards meeting our ambitious targets for 2020.'
Under the Kyoto Protocol the EU-15 Member States are committed to reducing their collective greenhouse gas emissions over the 2008-2012 period to an annual average of 8% below levels in the chosen base year (1990 in most cases). EU-15 greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 - the latest year for which full data are available – were 2% lower than base year levels.

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