Recent rather strident pronouncements
about Latvia's
grievance at having its carbon
emissions quota halved left a lot
unsaid. The writer [Nick Van
Ostren, "Carbon Hypocrisy,"
Letters, TBT #568, Aug. 9 - 15]
failed to mention that other countries
's notably Poland, Czech
Republic, Slovakia (and more
lately Lithuania) 's have also
decided to seek litigation for what
they believe is unfair treatment.
Strange how the original figures
were deemed to be overly
generous only when certain other
Kyoto Protocol member countries
objected.
One of these countries
was the U.S.A. (yet to ratify the
agreement) and it's worth noting
that America is responsible for 25
percent of the world's carbon
emissions. Britain is also guilty
and its pollution figures have
actually risen thanks to an
increased use of coal as opposed
to gas, which is more expensive,
in its power stations
Latvia, on the other hand, has
one of the cleanest environments
in the world, with 60 percent of
its energy being produced by
Hydro power and most of the rest
from gas and renewable sources.
Wind power yields a tiny amount
with plans for more. Its CO2 emissions
per capita are the lowest in
the EU and amongst the lowest in
the the world. Compare this to
environmentally conscious
Nether-lands which, according to
Friends of the Earth, sits under
one of the world's most polluted
skies.
"Estonia and Latvia sold their
shares and used the money to continue
funding dirty power stations."
The EU recently published a
list of the 30 most polluting power
stations within its borders. Ten
are in UK, 10 in Germany and the
rest scattered between Greece,
Poland, Italy, Czech Republic,
Portugal and Spain. All use coal.
According to published information
Latvia produces 0.41 [percent]
of its power from coal, barely
enough to feed the flood-lights
at a Skonto home game.
Trading carbon credits is
nothing new 's all member countries
do it. They can be bought
and sold on the London stock
exchange. However, the whole
trading system is indeed flawed,
and many agree it's ripe for modification.
For instance China, fast
overtaking the U.S.A. as the
world's top polluter is, as a developing
nation, excused from participation
in the agreement.
We should applaud those
countries seeking litigation 's why
should they suffer bullying or be
dictated to without negotiation or
recourse?
Many Latvians are
reported as being disillusioned
since joining the EU 's which is a
shame but hardly surprising.
Without doubt Europe is the
future for the Baltics and with
MEPs like Valdis Dombrovskis
working in the EU Parliament on
behalf of Latvia, the country
stands a good chance of reaching
maturity without too many
mishaps.
