That's what European Union Commission President José Manuel Barroso said in light of the final agreement on climate change rules for the 27-nation EU. "We merit our leadership role," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, to whom considerable credit must be given for his intensive shuttle diplomacy recently to make the elements of the final deal fall into place, called the agreement "historic."
All this pride is, in my view, perfectly justified. The EU has set a strong example for the developed world to follow. If the U.S., Japan, Canada, and other big industrialized economies pick up the pace too, then it will be all that more easy to gain the trust and foster the cooperation and participation of the (very) rapidly industrializing nations like China, India, South Africa, Brazil, among others, in meeting the climate change crisis.
This story from EurActiv has some of the details, as does this one from AP. President Barroso further said, in this statement, "At the heart of this success has been the EU's determination to stay focused on the overriding goal: the 20-20-20 targets for 2020. A 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% share for renewable energy, and a 20% boost to energy efficiency. The commitment to reach these targets remains 100% intact. From 2013, the amount of emissions allowed by industry will be cut, year by year. Industry which fails to respond will have to pay more." (See also the EU webpage on climate change.)
Not all constituencies, including many of the environmental organizations that have been pointing the way for years, are going to be perfectly content with all the elements of the final compromise. There have been concessions made, to be sure, to coal-reliant countries like Poland and to heavy industries, as I pointed out in yesterday's post. But the overall trajectory is hugely promising. As M. Voltaire said, and I sincerely believe: "Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien." The perfect is the enemy of the good.
See this video for a good look at the shape of the package.
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