Citation
Leal Filho, W. (2011), "Editorial", International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Vol. 3 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijccsm.2011.41403caa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Volume 3, Issue 3
Welcome to another issue of International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management (IJCCSM). Readers will find, as usual, an interesting set of papers demonstrating different aspects of climate change mitigation and adaptation, being undertaken in various countries.
In this editorial, I would like to comment on a report produced by the European Environment Agency (EEA), titled “Tracking progress towards Kyoto and 2020 targets” (www.eea.europa.eu/publications/progress-towards-kyoto/). The report suggests that the large drop in emissions seen in 2008 and 2009 gives the 15 original European Union (EU) countries a head start to reach and potentially exceed its 8 per cent reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol. It also highlights that the EU-27 (i.e. the current 27 member countries) is also well on track towards achieving its 20 per cent reduction target by 2020.
However, the report argues that three EU Member States (Austria, Denmark and Italy), two other EEA countries (Liechtenstein and Switzerland) and one EU candidate country (Croatia) need to step up their efforts before 2012 to be able to meet their targets. The economic crisis largely contributed to the drop in overall EU-27 greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 compared to 2008 (by 6.9 per cent according to EEA estimates), but its impact was felt less significantly in the sectors not included in the EU ETS (−3.3 per cent) than in the sectors included (−11.7 per cent). Return to economic growth could temporarily level off or even reverse the decline in emissions, but the declining trend is expected to continue.
IJCCSM will be monitoring developments in this field and shall encourage research and research papers which critically look at the extent to which greenhouse emissions have been reduced. After all, without such a reduction, the goals set at Kyoto and at recent Declarations, are unlikely to be met.
Enjoy your reading!
Walter Leal Filho