The EU Commission Wishes Us All a Green Year, Without Jobs and U.S. Imports
From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Mon, 2008-01-07 17:37
A quote from The Financial Times, 7 January 2008
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/2839Plans to tighten European anti-pollution legislation could force the closure of swathes of industry […] The European Commission tabled proposals just before Christmas to toughen directives dealing with dust, sulphur and nitrogen emissions […] BusinessEurope, which represents employers across the European Union, says the cost of compliance could force many plants to close. "These directives will impose a disproportionate cost on industry, leading to production cuts in Europe rather than to further innovation and investment in clean technologies," it said in a letter to commissioners.
A quote from EU Observer, 7 January 2008
The European Commission is considering proposing a carbon dioxide tariff on imports from states failing to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, while also considering a toughening-up of the EU's own emission trading system. […]
The plan reflects pressure by French president Nicolas Sarkozy who argued in October that Europe should "examine the option of taxing products imported from countries that do not respect the Kyoto Protocol," referring to the 1997 international agreement on fighting climate change. […] The EU's main trading partner, the US, has not signed the Kyoto protocol […]
Meanwhile, the commission draft also foresees more stringent green rules for EU companies after 2012, when the Kyoto treaty expires.