Greenpeace is calling on the Italian government to stop
undermining Europe's efforts to tackle climate change and to
declare an immediate moratorium on all new coal-fired power
plants(1).
"We need to get serious about climate change, quit coal and
start a clean energy revolution now," said Francesco Tedesco,
Climate and Energy campaigner, Greenpeace Italy, on board the
Arctic Sunrise. "The Civitavecchia power plant will increase
our CO2 emissions at a time
when we should be reducing them. Plants like this will derail the
Italian effort to meet the Kyoto target."(2)
Greenpeace strongly criticised Berlusconi's attempts to
undermine the European climate package at a summit of EU leaders in
Brussels yesterday, when he threatened to veto measures to cut
emissions and reduce Europe's dependency on fossil fuel
imports.(3)
"The Italian government is trying to block Europe's efforts to
tackle climate change and weaken the EU position on Kyoto
negotiations," said Giuseppe Onufrio, Campaigns Director,
Greenpeace Italy. "We hope Berlusconi comes to his senses and
supports the EU climate package to help Europe bounce back from the
financial crisis and create jobs and a greener economy".
Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels. A third of all
CO2 emissions come from coal
and, if we don't stop using it, these will increase to 60 percent
by 2030(4). "Coal is the single
greatest threat facing our climate," said Agnes de Rooij,
Greenpeace International climate campaigner onboard the Arctic
Sunrise. "The message from today's action is simple: to tackle
climate change, Europe needs to end its outdated dependency on
coal."
This autumn, the Greenpeace ships Rainbow Warrior and
Arctic Sunrise are bringing the 'Quit Coal'
message to the Mediterranean and Europe. The expedition, from
Israel to Poland, is happening in the run-up to crucial UN climate
negotiations in Poznan, Poland this December. Quitting coal will be
essential to a meaningful deal to save the climate. European
governments must show leadership by phasing-out coal in their own
countries. Greenpeace's Energy
[R]evolution shows how renewable energy, combined with greater
energy efficiency, can cut global CO2 emissions by 50 percent, and
deliver half the world's energy needs by 2050.
Other contacts: Agnes de Rooij, Greenpeace International climate campaigner on board the Arctic Sunrise:
+31 641 456 674
Francesco Tedesco, Energy and Climate Campaigner, Greenpeace Italy, on board the Arctic Sunrise:
+39 340 085 6944
Giuseppe Onufrio, Campaigns Director, Greenpeace Italy:
+39 340 640 4056
Matilda Bradshaw, Greenpeace International Communications:
+ 31 646 197 334
Notes: (1) Greenpeace invites everyone to write to Mr Silvio Berlusconi and to the Minister for Economic Development, Mr. Claudio Scajola, to call for an energy revolution in Italy and an end to the expansion of coal and nuclear plants.
(2) Once fully operating, the Enel plant will pump over 10 millions tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. This is equivalent to the emission from 2 million Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV), each running 25,000 kilometres a year. These emissions will be added to the Italian deficit for Kyoto, almost 50 Mt CO2 a year. Italian emissions have risen 12 percent from 1990 levels, while the Kyoto target requires a reduction of 6.5 percent.
(3) The commission's package calls for strengthening the emissions trading scheme (ETS), under which CO2 emissions are traded. It sets the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20-30 percent and includes plans to promote the use of renewable energy.
(4) Figures for this calculation are sourced from the Contribution of Working Group III to the 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.