EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Down in 2007

The latest climate change data from the European Union highlights how greenhouse gas emissions exhibited a 59 million ton drop in 2007, taking them 1.2 per cent below those of 2006 and 9.2 per cent below their 1990 level.

The terms of the Kyoto Protocol require EU emissions of CO2 and other gases to have dropped 20 per cent below the 1990 benchmark by 2020.

Emissions Reduction

The emissions reduction report was pulled together by the European Environment Agency, which attributed the 1.2 per cent fall to 2007’s mild winter, during which domestic and office use of resources for heating were below the norm. “For the EU, there was a significant decline in the use of oil and gas, particularly in households”, the report said.

CO2 emissions linked to the manufacturing industry were also on the decline in 2007, with Italy, Britain and Spain leading the way.  However, with Germany and Spain at the forefront, industrial emissions moved the other way.

A replacement for the Kyoto Protocol is due to have been agreed by the end of this year, with the support of over 190 nations around the world.

Obesity and Climate Change

In related news, a new study has highlighted a link between obesity and climate change, with as many as one billion additional CO2 emissions being released by countries with a comparatively high obesity rate.  The fact that this trend shows no sign of slowing down makes the situation all the more alarming, according to those behind the report, which forms part of the current edition of the International Journal of Epidemiology.  

The report draws up a comparison between a one billion strong population in a rich nation like the United States, and a one billion-strong population in a poorer nation, concluding that the richer nation’s population’s food energy requirement exceed the poorer nation’s by almost 20 per cent.

One factor taken into account is the use of transport, which, the report says, is more prevalent within the more obese society.  “The heavier our bodies become the harder it is to move about in them and the more dependent we become on cars”, it asserts.

“Population fatness has an environmental impact”, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Phil Edwards – report co-author - commented. 

“We're all being told to stay fit and keep our weight down because it's good for our health.

“The important thing is that staying slim is good for your health and for the health of the planet.”

The differential of up to one billion in terms of CO2 emissions is especially vast, taking into account that, five years ago, total global CO2 emissions stood at 27 billion tonnes.