All Entries Tagged With: "EU"
Hit The Road
by Einar Du Rietz My esteemed colleague Teresa Küchler at SvD in Brussels, draw my attention to the rather awkward debate in the budget negotiations in the European Parliament, concerning the, apparently, no less awkward Copenhagen based, EU financed, European Environment Agency. The EEA, in their own words, have a noble cause: “Our task is to [...]
More Than Rio
by Einar Du Rietz The Rio circus has barely started and already, reports are streaming in on plans for international taxation schemes, close to police power for the UNEP…believe me, the list will be longer. For regular reports from our team in Rio, check out www.cfact.org . Meanwhile, in Europe, the environment ministers don’t want [...]
Whaling – Not That Easy
by Einar Du Rietz The old issue of whaling seems to be an ever controversial issue, in the EU, as well as internationally. Chris Butler-Stroud,CEO of Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) writes on the subject and is particularly concerned that Denmark still holds on to the Greenland exception. The ban on whaling dates decades [...]
Just Another Day
by Einar Du Rietz Time for the World Environment Day again. Last time I counted, there were 426 Days per year, i.e, those sanctioned by the UN, EU or other international bodies. I know that the year, according to our calender, has 365 (366) days, but you can always combine. My figure (possibly higher by now) [...]
Eurovision – Government Hooliganism
by Einar Du Rietz The peculiar, but by now a sort of fancy kitsch, the Eurovisioncontest, is on again. This time in Baku, the not so democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. (Use the link to check out some of the songs. Montenegro has some, well interesting, lyrics.) This has raised some concern over the possible PR, [...]
Cuddle Up
by Einar Du Rietz To no surprise, the real winter cold enfolded most of Europe. Again. In parts of Europe, people have died. Travelling is out of the question, as trains are stranded and the roads are dangerous. How comforting then to be able to enjoy the heating at home, cook up a warm soup, [...]
What Good Is Experience If You Learn Nothing
by Einar Du Rietz Denmark, taking over the rotating EU presidency has outlined its priorities for the next half year. Not surprising, really, but still awkward. Reports Euractiv: “Environment Minister Ida Auken called for making energy efficiency legally binding, dismissing concerns that weak economies and the eurozone debt crisis would trump the environment in EU policy [...]
No Honey
by Einar Du Rietz “Honey has always been considered an entirely pure product for the purposes of food labelling laws. But Europe’s highest court has now decreed that pollen is an ingredient of honey rather than an intrinsic, natural component.” writes the Telegraph watch?v=qeGtaSWzFRA for more honey. It just so happens that I’m quite allergic. Not [...]
Just Politics as Usual
by Einar Du Rietz All the players are gearing up for the Durban festivities in a month. Though only accounting for about 11 percent of the worlds carbon emissions, the European Union, not surprisingly wants to play a major role. Euractiv gives an update: “Environment ministers of the European Union – responsible for only 11% [...]
Immobility Week
by Einar Du Rietz The Mobility Week is on again. The sort of expansion of the Green Week/In Town Without my Car Week, sponsored by the EU and participating cities, in other words tax money to make life harder for people. This has been a yearly event for ten years now, making lives more difficult. I [...]
Poland blocks EU environment council on climate
Poland, which is about to assume the EU Presidency, is so fed up with EU climate policy that on June 22 it blocked the conclusions of the EU environmental ministers council. Polish good sense blocked the ministers from recommending the EU reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 which would devastate European economies. This [...]
Shaken Consensus
by Einar Du Rietz Interesting to notice how the big-whigs get nervous, as soon as someone else on the top dares to question the holy Global Warming religion. Recent weeks have seen uproar in the European Parliament as British, conservative members openly have defied the “green” promises from London. Recently, Commissioner Janusz Lewandowsky caused even [...]
Will The World Be Enough?
by Einar Du Rietz Bureaucracies and weed have the thing in common that when not controlled, they grow beyond control. The same goes for governmental organisations, supra national or others, with the addition that it’s most often difficult even to find out who’s in charge, what the mandate is, not to mention the plan. Delegates [...]
Ban all cars from EU cities? End affordable flights?
The Telegraph reports on an EU plan to ban all gas and diesel vehicles from EU cities and end discount air travel all in the name of global warming. Siim Kallas, the EU transport commission, insisted that Brussels directives and new taxation of fuel would be used to force people out of their cars and [...]
Energy Commissioner: “process of de-industrialization in full swing”
German electricity prices a barrier to business EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger has told the German government that its taxes and fees on electricity have doubled since 1998, now stand at 41 percent and will continue to increase due to subsidies for alternative energy. Oettinger warned that this has moved the gradual process of de-industrialization [...]
