The Green Glance | Europe champions alternative energy, emissions reductions

Nathan Zucker Columnist

In his final State of the Union address on Jan. 28, President George W. Bush applauded the United States for investing in renewable energy sources and fighting global warming. Coming from an administration that denied the dangers of climate change, refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and lobbied for less stringent environmental regulations, such comments seem hypocritical at best.

Coming from a country that still produces a full quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, this is nothing but nonsense.

Clearly, the United States is anything but a leader in promoting alternative energy and reducing the use of fossil fuels. We are still the nation of SUVs, coal plants and fast food, the conspicuous consumers who may be wreaking havoc on the future of human civilization. Fortunately, there is an alternative to the reckless environmental policy that characterizes the U.S. government. It is, without a doubt, the European Union.

Although the United States allows industries to spew unlimited amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, this is not the case in Europe. The European Union’s climate policy revolves around a complex emissions trading program that forces large companies to monitor, report and offset their emissions.

For example, an industry’s carbon output is capped at a certain amount, determined by the government. If the company exceeds this amount, it must buy carbon credits from other companies that pollute less. On the other hand, if the company’s pollution does not reach the cap, it may sell such credits to those that pollute more.

This trading scheme has several advantages, both to business interests and the environment. First, it allows companies with older, more polluting infrastructures to gradually cut back on emissions by purchasing credits from “greener” businesses. Such a system avoids forcing corporations to renovate their facilities completely, an expensive and time-consuming process.

Second, the efficiency improvements that are cheapest are done first, allowing ecological concerns to coincide with a free-market mentality. Finally, the plan should reduce European emissions 21 percent by the year 2020, clearly demonstrating that putting a price on carbon is a feasible way to curb global warming.

The European Union has also heavily invested in innovative, local projects that use renewable energy to fight climate change. As The New York Times reported on April 9, the Irish town of Dundalk is now home to a 1.5 square mile Sustainable Energy Zone in which scientists are experimenting with new technologies that foster sustainable living.

For example, a 200-foot wind turbine takes advantage of western Ireland’s windy climate to generate electricity for the area’s businesses and residents. Solar-powered streetlights are being developed to cut energy use, and homes are being carefully insulated to avoid heat loss in winter. The hope is that this $40 million pilot project can be a model for sustainability at the global level; a greener future may look somewhat like the Dundalk community does today.

France, one of the most industrialized countries in the European Union, has also become a leader on environmental issues. Wind power is the hallmark of the French model for sustainable energy production, and it has become highly effective in recent years. Électricité de France, the main company involved in windmill projects, promises to increase wind’s share of France’s energy market to 21 percent by 2010. This parallels demands made by the European Union to help regulate climate.

In addition, the French transportation system relies on energy-efficient trains, such as the high-speed TGV, to carry passengers to their destinations. When there is a need to drive somewhere, the French choose smaller, fuel-efficient cars such as Renaults and Peugeots. Contrast this with the United States, where the average American sits alone in his SUV, getting 15 miles per gallon and spewing tons of carbon into the atmosphere.

The United States has fallen further and further behind the rest of the world in the fight to develop renewable energy and stop global warming. This is largely because of the Bush administration’s pro-business, anti-regulation stance on these issues. Consider this: No gasoline car sold in the United States could be driven even in ecologically-unfriendly China, simply because Chinese emissions regulations are so much stricter than ours.

Not only is the American environmental policy imperiling the future, but it makes a mockery of our government and damages relations with countries that are more serious about protecting the Earth. It’s clearly time for a change of direction, and the European Union is the place to look.

—Nathan Zucker ’10, a Latin American Studies major, is writing about environmental issues that affect both the Vassar community and the world at large.