E.U. Greenhouse Gas Deal Falls Short of Expectations

Katie Canty

11/4/14

Kanter, James. "E.U. Greenhouse Gas Deal Falls Short of Expectations." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

Recently the European Union made a step towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions. This deal was made to put pressure on other industrial countries to cap their emissions before the United Nations climate meeting at the end of 2015. Environmentalist agree that the compromise made was a weak one, but the deal was the best one that progressive countries could hope for given the concerns about coal burning in other E.U. nations, such as Poland. The compromise made was to cut down greenhouse gas emissions by forty percent by 2030. Countries like Poland and Hungary insisted on a clause in the deal that says the target will be reconsidered after the United Nations meeting in Paris at the end of 2015. The German chancellor and French president “suggested that the target would not be adjusted downward no matter the outcome of the United Nations talks next year.”

This article is really important to our society, especially because the United States is one of the worst offenders in emitting greenhouse gases. In the article the author stated “we urge you to follow Europe’s example” referring to the United States, China, and other large countries who are guilty of emitting large amounts of greenhouse gasses.

I enjoyed reading this article. All of the points made by the author were backed up with legitimate facts. It was also a good reminder that we do need to take care of our Earth. It is easy to forget that and the fact that “there has been diminished interest in identifying renewable alternatives” is just another example of how easy it is to forget about global warming.