Britain had sought to change its original allocation of pollution rights to allow industry to pump out an additional 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main gas blamed for global warming, in the 2005-2007 period.

The EU emissions trading scheme is its key instrument to fight climate change and meet commitments under the environmental treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol.

Britain’s attempt to allow its industry to pollute more came at the same time as Prime Minister Tony Blair put the fight against climate change at the top of the agenda of Britain’s presidency of the EU and G8 group of rich nations last year.

When the European Commission rejected the changes, Britain went to court. The EU’s Court of First Instance sided with Britain, saying it wa? entitled to revise the plan.

The Commission said it had studied the court’s ruling and decided that Britain had missed a September 30, 2004 deadline to submit any changes.

"Since the UK amendment was notified after this deadline, the Commission has passed today’s decision rejecting the amended plan on the grounds of late submission," it said.

The Commission said it took note of the court’s ruling that it had to consider changes as long as they are notified on time.

Britain said it was studying a range of options in response, including further legal action.

"We are looking at the ruling and considering what to do next, including the case for any legal challenge," a spokesman for Britain’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said. "The legal possibilities exist for a challenge."

The government accused the Commission of hiding "behind procedure" with its ruling.

ENVIRONMENT, INDUSTRY RIFT

The setback for the UK comes as British government departments squabble over the level of CO2 limits it will impose on industry during phase two of the trading scheme (2008-2012).

EU governments must submit their emissions plans for the second trading period by June 30.

Britain’s power industry, which faces the toughest CO2 limits under the EU scheme, said it was disappointed with the Commission’s decision and would look for ways to fight it.

"We are extremely disappointed, we will be considering what steps we might now take," said David Porter, chief executive of the London-based Association of Electricity Producers.

He said the decision could cost the power industry 350 million pounds ($609.8 million) a year as companies would have to buy extra CO2 allowances.

Traders said the Commission’s decision was bullish for the price of CO2 allowances as it meant the market would not receive an extra 20 million tonnes.

"The market firmed up last night and this morning ahead of the decision, but it was widely expected, it has been largely factored into prices already," said a London-based trader.

The UK’s original plan has been in place since last year despite the legal wrangling.

Under the EU scheme companies buy or sell rights to pollute, based on limits set by national governments and approved by the Commission. It covers high-polluting factories like power stations, oil refineries, steel mills and cement plants.

Programul continua campania "Rezervatii naturale fara bariere", prin care se invita organizatii si persoane fizice sa se alature acestei initiative.

"Decenii de-a randul, generatii de tineri au descoperit, explorat si protejat un patrimoniu natural de exceptie, reprezentat de rezervatiile naturale ale Romaniei. Astazi suntem in situatia in care libertatea de a intra in rezervatiile naturale traditional deschise tuturor este pe cale sa fie ingradita din dorinta de a obtine profit prin exploatarea turistica a acestora. Nu este vorba de oferta de servicii turistice, ci pur si simplu de incasarea unor taxe pentru simpla intrare in aceste rezervatii. Credem ca este de datoria noastra sa incercam sa pastram accesul liber si pentru viitor in rezervatiile naturale care au fost accesibile in acest mod pana acum", a declarat Ovidiu Guja.

Programul pleaca de de ideea ca, ani de zile, mii de pasionati de natura au contribuit voluntar la protejarea si conservarea acestor rezervatii. Initiativa isi propune sa ceara si sa determine mentinerea fara taxe a intrarii in parcurile si rezervatiile naturale traditional deschise publicului, urmand exemplele unor importante parcuri si rezervatii europene in care, pentru desavarsirea educatiei ecologice a publicului, nu se percep taxe de intrare.

"Suntem convinsi ca impreuna, pasionati de natura, custozi ai acestor rezervatii, apeland si la finantatorii si donatorii cu preocupari pentru protectia mediului, vom putea sa gasim resursele financiare necesare pentru mentinerea acestui statut", a mai precizat presedintele Societatii de Speologie.

Incepand din 2004, societatea poate sponsoriza cu o parte a impozitului pe care il datoreaza statului, organizatii nonprofit care administreaza sau au luat in custodie o arie naturala protejata. Un simplu calcul ne arata ca suma cu care se poate sponsoriza anual, depaseste la nivel de tara suma de 1.000 de miliarde lei. Societatea Nationala de Speologie arata ca este important este sa se profite de acest drept. Nu conteaza daca sponsorizezi un proiect de mediu, unul educativ, un proiect umanitar sau orice alt proiect desfasurat de o organizatie nonprofit din orice domeniu. Aceasta campanie se desfasoara cu intentia expresa de a sustine proiectele administratorilor care adera la "Rezervatii naturale fara bariere" si au inteles ca protectia naturii nu se face cu bariere, ci prin educatie

S-au obtinut, in total, 11 perioade de tranzitie intre 1 si 12 ani pentru domeniile: calitatea apei, managementul deseurilor, controlul poluarii industriale, a anuntat, vineri, Ministerul Integrarii Europene.

In prima etapa a negocierilor (incheiata la 23 septembrie 2004), Romania obtinuse 5 perioade de tranzitie, intre 1 si 5 ani, pentru aproape 2500 de instalatii in domeniul petrolier, al incinerarii deseurilor spitalicesti, al colectarii deseurilor de ambalaje si echipamente electrice si electronice, al industriei care poate deversa substante in mediul acvatic al comunitatii.

In a doua etapa de negocieri s-au obtinut alte 6 perioade de tranzitie intre 1 si 12 ani.

"Si negocierile pentru aceste ultime perioade de tranzitie au fost foarte intense si deosebit de dificile" – a declarat ministrul delegat Vasile Puscas, negociatorul-esf al Romaniei cu UE, care a condus delegatia tarii noastre la Conferinta de aderare desfasurata, vineri, la Bruxelles.

Pentru managementul deseurilor, s-au acordat perioade de tranzitie cuprinse intre 3 si 8 ani pentru depozitarea deseurilor (perioada este calculata dupa expirarea perioadei de implementare acordata de acquis statelor membre, respectiv de la data de 16 iulie 2009) pentru ca 129 de depozite de deseuri sa se conformeze la standardele comunitare si perioade de 5 pana la 9 ani pentru transporturile deseurilor.

In ceea ce priveste epurarea apelor uzate, s-au obtinut perioade de tranzitie pana la 12 ani, adica pana la 31 decembrie 2018, pentru cea mai mare parte a localitatilor urbane (2609 localitati).

Referitor la nivelul calitatii apei potabile, perioada de tranzitie pentru atingerea standardelor comunitare variaza, in functie de diferiti parametri de calitate, intre 4 si 9 ani pentru localitatile cu populatie intre 10.000 si 100.000 de locuitori.

In domeniul prevenirii si controlului integrat al poluarii, s-au obtinut perioade de tranzitie cuprinse intre 2 si 9 ani pentru 195 de instalatii, iar pentru limitarea emisiilor anumitor poluanti in atmosfera de la instalatiile mari de ardere au fost obtinute perioade de tranzitie cuprinse intre 1 si 6 ani pentru 126 de instalatii.

"A trebuit sa negociem interesul companiilor, al comunitatilor locale, sa tinem cont atat de necesitatea de a avea un aer mai curat, o apa mai buna, dar si de capacitatea de a investi a administratiilor publice locale si a companiilor. Am dorit ca efortul investitional, de aproape 30 de miliarde de euro, sa fie repartizat pe urmatoarele 2 decade. Nu trebuie sa uitam ca investitiile vor fi realizate atat de la bugetul de stat, dar si de companii si din fonduri comunitare consistente, mai ales dupa aderare. Uniunea Europeana ne acorda si acum sute de milioane de euro anual pentru mediu. Trebuie sa invatam din proiectele ISPA, deoarece, dupa aderare, fondurile comunitare vor fi si mai consistente si este necesar sa realizam proiecte eficiente, care sa faciliteze absorbtia acestora" – a explicat Vasile Puscas.

Ministrul delegat a mentionat ca, in negocieri, partea romana a prezentat planuri de implementre pentru fiecare instalatie in parte, in care s-a precizat cum se va face alinierea graduala la standardele comunitare (investitii, surse de finantare etc.). Totodata, a multumit companiilor si autoritatilor publice locale, cu care s-a consultat inca din 2001 si care au oferit aceste date, ajutand delegatia sa le negocieze interesele.

"Putem spune ca am obtinut in negocieri rezultate bune" – a subliniat Vasile Puscas, atragand atentia ca vor fi necesare considerabile investitii in domeniul mediului "nu pentru ca asa ne cere Uniunea Europeana, ci pentru ca vrem sa avem o apa mai buna, un mediu mai curat si sa fim mai sanatosi".

"S-a observat ca, in localitatile in care poluarea este crescuta, durata de viata este mai redusa. Asadar, trebuie sa investim in mediu, adica sa investim in viata si sanatatea noastra si a copiilor nostri", iar acest lucru necesita un efort comun al guvernului, al companiilor si al societatii civile – a mai spus negociatorul-sef cu UE./

"We intend to be much more active in the wind, power, solar energy, biomass and geothermal areas," Rubenstein said.

"We think it’s an extremely attractive area in which to invest, particularly because many states in the US now require that utilities buy a certain percentage of their energy from solar, biomass, geothermal or wind power sources," he told Reuters at a private equity conference in Frankfurt where he also predicted that some buyout firms would go public within the next several years.

To meet the energy demand, Carlyle, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, is raising a fund that will invest in renewable energy infrastructure, sources familiar with the matter said.

Carlyle declined to comment on the fund. Rubenstein did, however, say the firm was set to launch a hedge fund within the next several weeks after announcing the move last year.

Soaring oil prices have prompted state and federal governments to explore alternative sources.

US President George Bush in his State of the Union address outlined details of a ?ederal initiative to provide a 22 percent increase in clean-energy research. The US government’s 2007 budget includes $44 million for wind energy research, a $5 million increase from the year before.

Investing in the current cycle of renewable energy interest has not taken off, with only a handful of firms actively pursuing opportunities.

J.P. Morgan Partners, the private equity arm of investment bank J.P. Morgan and rival bank Goldman Sachs are among companies investing in the projects.

CREDIT

Rubenstein was speaking at the annual Super Return conference in Germany, where private equity firms came under attack last year from a leading local politician, who branded them "locusts" who buy up companies and cut jobs.

Rubenstein said that charge was unfounded and encouraged German pension funds to invest in private equity funds.

"German political leaders and business leaders should encourage more German private equity firms to get started – don’t wait for the Americans to show up but support and encourage Germans to start their own funds and to do the same kind of things that the Americans are doing," Rubenstein said.

"They should also take a look at the facts about what is actually happening in the German economy as opposed to criticising private equity people," Rubenstein said.

"We don’t deserve all the credit for the German economy, clearly, but I think private equity people deserve some credit for trying to help get the German economy into the 21st century."

IPOS ON THE HORIZON

The buyout pioneer also predicted some private equity firms would look to go public within the next five years.

"Private equity firms are being beseiged by investment banks all the time to go public," he said, although he stressed that Carlyle would not be seeking a listing.

Others may be bought by an investment bank, he said.

He also warned that the current ripe conditions for buyouts – huge funds, mountains of cheap debt, low interest rates and strong economic growth – might not last forever.

"Right now we’re operating as if the music’s not going to stop playing and the music is going to stop. I am more concerned about this than any other issue," Rubenstein said.

He also cautioned about the rush of private equity funds to do ever-larger club style deals, where up to five or six firms get together to buy assets, piling on billions of dollars in debt as part of the process.

"It might be easy to buy into these … when things are going good. I worry these deals don’t look so smart when economies turn down," Rubenstein said.

La lucrarile reuniunii au fost abordate probleme prioritare care vizeaza promovarea unor actiuni cu rezultat imediat in aplicarea diagramei de eliminare treptata din economie a substantelor care depreciaza stratul de ozon. In cadrul reuniunii s-au adoptat unele decizii suplimentare, in vederea punerii in aplicare a prevederilor Protocolului de la Montreal si a Amendamentelor la Protocol adoptate la Londra, la Copenhaga, la Montreal si la Beijing.

In perioada 21 – 24 noiembrie 2004, vor avea loc reuniuni la nivel tehnic, zilele de 25 – 26 noiembrie fiind destinate reuniunii ministeriale, la care au participat ministrii si sefii delegatiilor din peste 180 de tari, semnatare ale acestui acord multilateral de mediu.

Forumul ONG-urilor ce activeaza in domeniul protectiei mediului se organizeaza traditional la finele anului in curs cu scopul de a oferi comunitatii neguvernamentale de mediu posibilitatea analizei unui an de activitate in domeniu si de a stabili perspectivele dezvoltarii ulterioare.

In cadrul Forumului din acest an vor fi abordate subiecte ce tin de realizarea politicilor de mediu si respectarea legislatiei ecologice a Republicii Moldova atit de catre sectorul asociativ, cat si de catre organele abilitate. Vor fi prezentate un sir de studii de caz privind implementarea unor proiecte ecologice de amploare si se vor discuta rezultatele unui an de munca a sectorului neguvernamental de mediu in cooperare cu organele de stat, donatori, alte ONG-uri, mas media si alte persoane interesate, se va prezenta evolutia sectorului neguvernamental in anul de referinta, etc.

La Forum va participa si va prezenta un raport ministrul ecologiei si resurselor naturale Constantin Mihailescu, iar in cadrul atelierelor preconizate participantii vor organiza un schimb de opinii privind modalitatile de imbunatatire a cooperarii organelor de mediu cu sectorul asociativ. Sunt invitati pentru participare reprezentanti ai Parlamentului, Guvernului, altor organe de resort, ambasadelor, organizatiilor internationale donatoare, reprezentanti ai ONG-urilor din Ucraina si ai mas-media.

Representatives of green groups, in interviews this week, said a ban on GMO?s should have come into force well before Romania joins the European Union either next year or in 2008.

An earlier ban would have given farmers enough time to switch to conventional crops and authorities more time to develop a monitoring system for biotech produce, they said.

"We welcome the government’s decision (to ban GMO?s) but I don’t see how it is possible to have totally clean fields and crops next year," Ana Maria Bogdan of Greenpeace told Reuters.

Earlier this month, the Black Sea state’s government passed legislation banning cultivation of gene-spliced soy starting Jan. 1, 2007 to bring it in line with EU norms, as debate heats up worldwide on safety of such crops to health and environment.

"The ban should have been imposed this year. Time is too short to stop uncontrolled seeding… that will end up in contaminating traditional crops beyond entry date," Bogdan said.

Europe’s biggest soy grower until 1989, Romania brought GMO seeds a decade ago from US biotech giants Monsanto Co and Pioneer, who say their technology helps fight hunger and poverty.

Europe’s shoppers are known for their wariness towards GMO?s, often dubbed as "Frankenstein foods", but Romania’s 22 million population seems to have no problem with them.

GMO soy is the only genetically modified crop grown locally on 88,000 ha (217,500 acres), or 0.6 percent of Romania’s farml?nd. It accounts for two thirds of overall soy output.

Environmentalists say there is no way to stop GMO crops from spreading because of crossbreeding, cross-pollination and illegal trade.

"God only knows when we’ll be free of (genetically) modified soy. It’s chaos…farmers sell seeds without documents and this might create consumer suspicion in the (European) Union," Ion Scurteli, chief of the grain wholesalers association, said.

Uncontrolled seed trading is common in Romania whose farmland has been a patchwork of plots whose ownership is contested since Stalinist collectivisation was scrapped after the 1989 fall of communism.

ADDITIONAL NORMS

In a bid to prepare farmers for the shift, the government said it was drafting additional norms to ban sowing of GMO seeds from the previous years’ crops in 2006.

However, it has yet to establish how it will destroy stocks of GMO seeds to prevent blending with conventional crops in the future or if any compensation would be granted to farmers.

"If there is any need for financial compensation the ministry might consider discussing the matter," Agriculture Ministry spokesman Adrian Tibu said.

The ministry said it was eager to explain to farmers the benefits of shifting to organic crops including getting badly needed Brussels aid and teach them how to tap the EU’s market.

Farmers, who shifted to GMO crops a decade ago in a bid to give up using costly herbicides, see it differently. They said the shift would inevitably imply production losses.

Constantin Necsulescu, 63, who grows GMO soy on his 500 ha farm near the Danube Rriver on the border with Bulgaria, accepts the changes but fears possible damages.

"What should I do? I must comply with the ban," he told Reuters.

"I ordered 1,000 tonnes of (conventional) seeds to build up new stocks. But there’s no secret, I expect to harvest two tonnes of soybeans instead of four… and my costs will rise…I’m not sure if subsidies will cover costs," he added.

Monsanto said the government’s ban was disappointing.

"Monsanto is naturally disappointed by the declaration … The people most affected are the farmers who have managed to double their profits through choosing Roundup Ready soya and transforming the Romanian soya production," Jonathan Ramsay of Monsanto in Brussels told Reuters.

Specialistii romani au avut intilniri de lucru cu conducerea Ministerului Ecologiei si Resurselor Naturale, colaboratorii directiei de specialitate a ministerului si Agentiei de Stat pentru Geologie ?AGeoM?.

In cadrul acestor intilniri au fost identificate mai multe probleme de interes comun care pot constitui obiective de colaborare pe termen scurt si mediu.

Printre principalele teme abordate au fost: asistenta metodica si tehnica din partea romana la crearea bazei de date privind rezervele de substante minerale si instalarea ei pe suport digital (Sistemul Geografic Informational Geologic), preluarea experientei partii romane in materie de reglementare a relatiilor in domeniul folosirii subsolului si armonizare a legislatiei in domeniu cu legislatia comunitara a Uniunii Europene, precum si participarea specialistilor din Romania la pregatirea cadrelor in domeniul geologiei, inclusiv si organizarea practicii de producere a studentilor.

S-a constatat ca aceasta colaborare ar putea fi dezvoltata in cadrul unui acord de intentii, care ar stabili directiile principale de colaborare, schimbului de experienta si atragerii unor fonduri nationale pentru efectuarea activitatilor de cercetare si explorare.

In cadrul intrunirilor, care au avut loc la Ministerul Ecologiei si Resurselor Naturale si subdiviziunile lui, s-a convenit asupra organizarii unor cursuri de recalificare pentru specialistii in domeniul protectiei mediului, pentru tineretul studios, alte persoane interesate, s-a abordat problema elaborarii unor proiecte si programe comune de cercetare in domeniu.

Expertii cehi si-au exprimat gatinta de a extinde relatiile de colaborare in domeniul agriculturii ecologice, crearii retelei ecologice si al managementului landsafturilor.

Aceasta vizita s-a efectuat in conformitate cu programul de colaborare moldo-ceha aflat in deplina desfasurare.

In a press statement, signatories said that millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors. "Many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians," they said. "But now we have seen and heard enough." The campaign intends to use newspaper and television ads to push its position.

Reportedly instrumental in George W. Bush’s re-election to the White House, Evangelicals are more often associated with taking conservative stands on hot-button issues such as abortion and gay marriage than with environmental sensitivity. But in 2004, National Association of Evangelicals did adopt a statement that humans have "a sacred responsibility to steward the Earth and not a license to abuse the creation of which we are a part." That said, though, despite the publicity generated by the call to action signatories, most Evangelicals, including the NAE leadership, do not consider the fight against global warming to be a top priority.