Not much green on the EU's red carpet

Mar 14, 2008, 12:39 GMT

Brussels - A stately Jaguar Sovereign pulls up to the red carpet and disgorges a group of dignitaries, while a glowing heater pours an endless stream of warmth into the chill spring air.

As the Jaguar pulls away, a flood of gleaming limousines - BMWs, Audis, Mercedes - growls up, delivering the European Union's 27 leaders to the bloc's Brussels headquarters to discuss the problem of greenhouse gases and climate change.

The meeting concludes by 'urging national governments and EU institutions to set an example by making substantial progress towards reducing energy use in their buildings and car fleets.'

But despite all the noble aims, the EU's red carpet could not be described as the greenest place in Europe.

From the atmospheric heater, to the towering TV lights, to the mighty machines of the road, few of its characteristic features are of the sort to warm the hearts of environmental campaigners.

'You can't talk climate change and not at least try to lead by example. It's embarrassing that leaders show such disregard for it in their personal choices,' Mahi Sideridou, climate expert at environmental group Greenpeace, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

One year ago, EU leaders meeting in Brussels set themselves the goal of cutting the union's emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 20 per cent, with stiff legal penalties if they failed.

They hailed it as a breakthrough in the fight against climate change and proof that Europe really led the world on the issue.

But just one year later, as they re-convened to discuss how to put the pledge into action, the same leaders seemed more intent on winning protection for their national economies.

Sweden, with its high labour costs, for example, pushed for the right to pay for more emissions-reduction projects in cheaper countries. Poland and Estonia wanted special treatment for their highly-polluting energy generators.

And even Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, the heroine of the 2007 deal, called for measures to protect Germany's most polluting industries from any unfair foreign competition.

'We are not questioning the (greenhouse gas emission) reductions, but if you have a common European goal, you can still talk about the way you want to hit it and what measures you want to inflict on which industries,' she said.

The apparent volte-face has not impressed environmental groups.

'Last year we were very excited by the climate deal, but now the devil's in the detail - everyone is trying to make sure that they're not the ones who have to deliver,' Sideridou said.

But the problem is not limited to Europe's ruling elite. According to an EU-wide survey published Thursday, 96 per cent of Europeans think that protecting the environment is important.

But only 17 per cent have transformed that concern into concrete lifestyle choices such as using their car less or buying certified environmentally-friendly products, the Eurobarometer report showed.

'People are happy to vote for political parties with strong climate policies, but they're not willing to give up significant parts of their lifestyle for someone else's benefit in the future,' Jos Dings, head of green group Transport and Environment, said.

EU leaders and environmentalists both say that the only way to prevent dangerous climate change will be for the world's societies to make serious changes to their lifestyles, whatever the cost.

'If we want to hit the target, it's not just going to be tinkering: it's going to mean something, people will feel it in their everyday life,' Dings said.

Leaders often justify their own choices of vehicle on the grounds of security, although that issue did not seem to concern European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Austria's prime, foreign and finance ministers - all of whom arrived on foot.

Given the debate now raging in the EU on how to fight climate change without hurting national economies, pressure groups question whether even the bloc's most eco-friendly leaders are yet ready to turn their own red carpet green.

'If the EU doesn't say this is what it's willing to do, who's going to step forward? It's the EU which has to take the responsibility - then it will trickle down to every other greenhouse-gas emitter,' Sideridou said.