EU environment chief applauds Stern report

EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas has lauded the Stern report on climate change, saying it has raised awareness of global warming.

The much-publicised report by economist Nicholas Stern, released on October 30, suggests that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20 per cent.

It adds that taking action now would cost just one per cent of global GDP but that inaction would lead to devastating economic consequences.

“Up to now, we knew climate change was an environmental issue as well as a moral issue, since developing countries suffer more from its impact,” Dimas said before a meeting with Stern on Thursday.

“The Stern report has shown that it is also an economic, social and political problem.”

“The cost of inaction will be much greater than the cost of acting now,” Dimas insisted.

“And the later we act, the more expensive it will be.”

The Stern report, commissioned by the UK government, is the first major contribution to the climate change debate by an economist rather than an environmental scientist.

Before the meeting, Stern – who is a former chief economist at the World Bank – said the EU’s emission trading scheme is “of fundamental importance”.

“I believe Europe has been a leader on climate change and will continue to be a leader in future,” he said.

The meeting came at a time of intense EU activity on the climate change front.

The European commission is currently assessing the member states’ national allocation plans for carbon emissions, and is due to deliver its verdict by the end of the month.

But Dimas has made it clear that many of the plans are still not ambitious enough to enable the EU to meet its Kyoto 2012 targets.

“If we want to find a global solution to climate change, this will probably be based on a worldwide emissions scheme, so the success of the EU emissions trading system is of fundamental importance,” Dimas argued.

During a joint press conference with the WWF environmental organisation, Dimas added his signature to a “statement for a strong European emissions scheme” signed by 50 economists from universities and banks across the EU. 

WWF says the plans submitted by Germany, Poland, France and Greece are weak and must be rejected.

Speaking at the press conference, Dimas said the commission will table a proposal in the next few weeks to include airlines in the EU’s emission scheme.

He conceded that the airlines have given a “mixed response” to the prospect.

But he argued that “if the airlines consider the other alternatives such as taxes, they realise it is better to be included in the emissions trading scheme”.

He said the rule would apply to all airlines flying into and out of the EU, irrespective of whether they are European or not.

Dimas added that he expects this to come into force by 2010 if it gets the backing of EU ministers.

• Previous article
• Next article