Recent rather strident pronouncementsabout Latvia'sgrievance at having its carbonemissions quota halved left a lotunsaid. The writer [Nick VanOstren, "Carbon Hypocrisy,"Letters, TBT #568, Aug. 9 - 15]failed to mention that other countries's notably Poland, CzechRepublic, Slovakia (and morelately Lithuania) 's have alsodecided to seek litigation for whatthey believe is unfair treatment.Strange how the original figureswere deemed to be overlygenerous only when certain otherKyoto Protocol member countriesobjected.
One of these countrieswas the U.S.A. (yet to ratify theagreement) and it's worth notingthat America is responsible for 25percent of the world's carbonemissions. Britain is also guiltyand its pollution figures haveactually risen thanks to anincreased use of coal as opposedto gas, which is more expensive,in its power stationsLatvia, on the other hand, hasone of the cleanest environmentsin the world, with 60 percent ofits energy being produced byHydro power and most of the restfrom gas and renewable sources.Wind power yields a tiny amountwith plans for more. Its CO2 emissionsper capita are the lowest inthe EU and amongst the lowest inthe the world. Compare this toenvironmentally consciousNether-lands which, according toFriends of the Earth, sits underone of the world's most pollutedskies."Estonia and Latvia sold theirshares and used the money to continuefunding dirty power stations."
The EU recently published alist of the 30 most polluting powerstations within its borders. Tenare in UK, 10 in Germany and therest scattered between Greece,Poland, Italy, Czech Republic,Portugal and Spain. All use coal.According to published informationLatvia produces 0.41 [percent]of its power from coal, barelyenough to feed the flood-lightsat a Skonto home game.Trading carbon credits isnothing new 's all member countriesdo it. They can be boughtand sold on the London stockexchange. However, the wholetrading system is indeed flawed,and many agree it's ripe for modification.For instance China, fastovertaking the U.S.A. as theworld's top polluter is, as a developingnation, excused from participationin the agreement.We should applaud thosecountries seeking litigation 's whyshould they suffer bullying or bedictated to without negotiation orrecourse?
Many Latvians arereported as being disillusionedsince joining the EU 's which is ashame but hardly surprising.Without doubt Europe is thefuture for the Baltics and withMEPs like Valdis Dombrovskisworking in the EU Parliament onbehalf of Latvia, the countrystands a good chance of reachingmaturity without too manymishaps.
