German Government Caves in to Industry Over CO2

Germany is gripped by football world cup fever ahead of its semi-final clash with Italy tonight. What is not making the news is the fact that the German government has just allowed German industry to emit millions more tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The National Allocation Plan II, that covers policy from 2008 to 2012, and which has just received cabinet approval, allows industry and electricity companies to emit 482 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. This is actually an increase of 8 million tonnes from the year before and goes against the commitments that Germany made under the Kyoto Protocol when it pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent from 1990 levels by 2008-2012.

If you are worried about how much carbon dioxide all those football fans are giving off – well don’t be. Under the title “Green Goal” the World Cup is the first tournament that is meant to be climate neutral. Somehow I doubt it, with 100,000 English fans alone travelling to Germany, most who flew.