Issue No.1

Contents:

1. NEWS

A. National EU Environment Ministers Want Cap on Emissions Trading

B. National G7 Environment Ministers Want Minimum Standards

2. THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

1. NEWS

Quote of the week: "It is not clear yet whether Germany can reach its national target with domestic action only, or whether the German government will have to embrace emissions trading and joint implementation projects with other countries", Sascha Mueller-Kraenner, Heinrich-Boell Foundation, Washington D.C. Office.

A. National EU Environment Ministers Want Cap on Emissions Trading

"Meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, all 15 EU states agreed that there should be a limit on emissions trading, but they failed to approve a complicated blueprint drawn up by Germany, which would calculate a specific tradable amount of carbon dioxide for each country."

"A number of countries felt the German plan was too rigid. The Netherlands wants to achieve 50 percent of its own cuts through flexible mechanisms, the official said. Sweden, Finland and Ireland also favour more flexibility. Negotiators will have one more attempt at agreeing a formula at a meeting shortly after Easter. If that fails, ministers will be summoned to Brussels on May 18, the EU source said"

(Reuters, March 26, 1999 http://www.planetark.org/).

One reason for the dissenting opinion from the Netherlands is that "the Netherlands Government has set up a Programme on Pilot Projects for Joint Implementation (PPP-JI), which will run until the end of this century" (http://www.northsea.nl/jiq/nether.htm).

B. National G7 Environment Ministers Want Minimum Standards

"Industrial Countries Want to Advance Climate Protection. Schwerin, Germany, G8 environment ministers advocate worldwide introduction of environmental minimum standards. Global competition should not take place at the expense of the environment, Federal Environment Minister Juergen Trittin said as chairman of the conference which ended yesterday. Environment Ministers from Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, the USA and Russia agreed that a global ecological framework has to be created. The ministers called for reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from road traffic. Taxes and other economic instruments should be used to attain it." (Schwaeb.Tagblatt, 29.03.99)

Industrial Countries Want Environmental Aspects Respected in International Trade.

Trittin also said that participants at the meeting would concern themselves with having environmental aspects respected in international trade.

(29.3.99, http://www.spiegel.de/homepage/deutschland/umwelttritt_in.html)

2. THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

"Changes in public concern about the environment, and the evolving climate policy framework could work together to increase demands for superior products that also incorporate climate-friendly attributes." As shown in a recent futures study by Siemens, "developing countries are at a particularly important stage in building infrastructure. They can leapfrog conventional carbon-intensive technologies and establish more efficient transportation and communication systems." Fourteen companies such as Mitsubishi, Pratt & Whitney, AT&T, Nortel, IBM, Motorola and Intel have initiatives. For more information, see the new book and Website "Electronics Innovation for Climate Protection", Washington DC, from which we'll continue to bring selected insights. http://www.wri.org/cpi/carbon/business.htm

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21.07.99