Marrakech: a triumph for planet Earth

The Marrakech conference on the environment has decided to accept the terms of the Protocol of Kyoto.

The Protocol of Kyoto establishes limits on emission of polluting Greenhouse Effect Gases (GEG), such as Carbon Dioxide. These GEG rise into the atmosphere and form a layer around the Earth, reflecting escaping heat back down onto the planet, creating a rise in the planet’s temperature (global warming).

With the fixing of limits back to 1990 emission levels (different emission levels being stipulated for each country, under the philosophy of the more industrialised countries setting an example for the developing world) the problem can at least begin to be addressed.

The European union congratulated the participants at Marrakech in an official communication, which declared: “We can now say to the Europeans that, finally, practical actions can be started to stop the dramatic consequences of climate changes which threaten the whole planet”.

The horrific storms which this weekend caused 500 deaths around the world are an example of this type of climate change. The final death toll caused by the floods in Algeria was 300 dead, 350 injured and 4,000 families homeless. In the Philippines, the typhoon Lingling caused 201 dead and 135 missing, before moving westwards to Vietnam.

Other countries, such as the United States of America, do not intend to adopt the terms of the Protocol of Kyoto because reduction in pollution levels would be damaging to their economy.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru