Government figures show Britain will fail to meet its Kyoto obligations

[muriel_volestrangler]

A DTI spokeswoman said the UK's total carbon dioxide emissions, including the contribution from homes, cars and air travel, was now expected to total some 529 million tons by 2010.

That is 10.6 per cent below their level in 1990 - but compared with the Government's own target of a 20 per cent cut - or even the 12 per cent reduction required to meet Kyoto, they are not meeting requirements.

In 2004, the projection for total CO2 emissions in 2010 was 518 million tons, suggesting the UK is getting further and further away from meeting its targets.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article346162.ece

And this is after a few years of complacency, and either ignorance or lying by the UK government about "having met the Kyoto target already":

Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, Prime Minister:" The Kyoto targets are our international obligation, and we will meet them—indeed, we have met them already. We are one of the very few countries in the world that will meet those targets, and we can be proud of that." (Hansard - 8 Dec 2004 : Column 1161)

Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, speaking at the launch of the UK Climate Change Programme Review consultation, 8 December 2004, said:

"We are of course ahead, I probably don't need to tell you, ahead of our Kyoto target although it's amazing how much in some circles there is confusion between our Kyoto target and or domestically set CO2 target."

Margaret Beckett MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Speech to the Defra East Midlands Climate Change Conference, Buxton, Derbyshire, Monday 29 November 2004

"Our economy grew by thirty six percent in the years up to 2002, in the same period, our emissions of carbon dioxide, our emissions of greenhouse gases, fell, fell by some fifteen percent, we've already met and exceeded our Kyoto target". www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ministers/speeches/mb041129.htm

Labour Party Manifesto 2005 - Britain: forward not back, page 89 - "The UK has already met its obligations under the Kyoto protocol."

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/emissions_breach_kyoto_tar_02092005.html

Either the politicians really thought that having emissions now under the target for 2012 meant we had "met the Kyoto target", or they thought they could fool people into thinking that.

[applegrove]

1. Lot's of countries did. USA is loosing manufacturing jobs. Other

Kyoto signees are not so much.

[rfkrfk]

2. Europe did nothing

the reason some countries are somewhat
close to meeting their Kyoto target,
is just happenstance,
and choosing 1990 as the baseline year

nobody lifted a finger.
things that would have been done anyway, are the reason

Europe got, what it offered, nothing

[Bamboo]

3. Ministers Pick Jaguar over Prius.

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=377622

Blair is also getting a private jet.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/19022006/143/dismay-private-jet-plan-blair.html

Dr. Helen Caldicott thinks people should stop using cloths dryers and hang laundry outside on lines.With her busy life protesting nuclear proliferation does she practice what she preaches?