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　　９月在法國里昂舉辦的氣候協商會議，因為歐洲各地針對高燃料稅所進行的激烈抗議及封鎖行動而十分低調。提高燃料稅是歐洲各國提高稅收、鼓勵環境保護及降低溫室效應氣體排放所不可或缺的一項重要策略。隨著國際原油價格已經攀升到自1990-1991年波灣戰爭以來最高點，這項政策已經引起整個歐洲大陸的卡車司機、農人及其他中小企業經營者等基層民眾的全面反彈，這些抗議者已經封鎖了通往比利時、英國、法國、德國、義大利及其他地方的重要道路。

　　而歐洲各國政府已經開始一個接一個地做出讓步，第一個屈服的是法國政府，接著是荷蘭做出了提供商業車輛暫時的優惠方案及降低柴油燃料稅方案。義大利則立即決定調降柴油價格並保證將石化燃料碳排放稅維持在2000年的標準。

　　到目前為止，儘管德國與英國國內主要的反對黨都試著要從這場論戰當中獲得一些利益，而這兩個政府的態度仍然維持堅定不變。德國基督教民主黨 Ruprecht Polenz說「所謂的生態稅是一個嚴重錯誤的政策，它對於生態環境並沒有什麼用處，倒是跟錢比較有關」，「我們國家的人民與經濟體系正遭受其害」。(Planet Ark。路透社。09.20.00)

　　英國保守黨(The British Conservative Party)的批評更加嚴厲，並且誓言若能成為執政黨則將大大地降低燃料稅。保守黨主席William Hague說「如果我們的政府認為藉著壓迫汽車使用者、或是使人們遠離馬路就能夠拯救環境，那他們就大錯特錯了」。英國燃料稅已經調漲到油價的75％，而八年來保守黨首度在民調中領先勞工黨。(Planet Ark。路透社。09.21.00)。

　　別以為美國政客沒有在注意這些事情。在美國，油價已經攀升到十年來的新高，儘管燃料稅相對較低，但這已儼然為總統大選的重要議題。George W. Bush要求增加對於OPEC會員國施壓，以提高原油產量，並主張應開放北極圈國家野生動物保護區(Arctic National Wildlife Refuge)進行石油鑽探。Al Gore則提議釋出美國緊急戰備儲油，而柯林頓總統也很快地照辦。這些儲油僅僅在波灣戰爭期間釋出過一次。

　　高爾正面臨一個十分困難的處境，就算在他當選總統之後，也只會變得更為棘手。雖然高爾最近獲得Sierra Club與卡車司機工會(Teamsters) 等兩大團體的公開支持，但是他不可能同時滿足這兩股不同勢力的選民，又同時致力於降低汽車及卡車的二氧化碳排放量。

失敗的里昂會議

　　來自150個不同國家的與會人員於九月十一至十五日齊聚法國里昂，為即將在海牙舉行COP-6會議的準備工作做最後定案，這是一場重要的、關鍵性的全球氣候變遷協商會議。COP-6將會是自1997年十二月簽署的京都協議(Kyoto Protocol)以來最重要的一場關於氣候的國際性會議，而這場會議是否能成功，就要看它能不能讓足夠的已開發國家確實地履行協議內容，在2010年以前將實際的溫室效應氣體排放量減少至協議中所要求的標準。為了要讓這個目標能夠實現，仍然有非常多具有爭議性的議題需要解決。

　　根據眾多紀錄來看，在里昂的會議並沒有太大的進展，會中仍在爭論的不外乎是該採用什麼樣能各與會國共同遵從的方法、森林的碳吸存量是否也能算數，以及能允許國際間多少程度的二氧化碳減量交易(international trading in reductions)。包括美國、加拿大在內的許多國家正推動通過讓致力於種植樹木或保護森林行動的國家能因此而被認定是在進行碳吸存(carbon sinks)並且能算在排放減量的積分上。美國同時也要求關於排放權的交易(trading in emissions rights)不應受到限制，也就是說任何一個由已開發國家提供資金，在開發中國家進行的溫室效應氣體減量計劃，不論減少的溫室效應氣體量有多少，都應該算在積分之內，然而這項提案遭受到雖非全部、但為數不少的環保團體反對。

　　另一方面，歐洲國家雖然被允許互相抵銷各自的排放量，只要在2010年以前達到減量8%的總目標就好了，但他們仍強力反對這兩項提案。同一時間，歐洲國家也推動一些在許多環保團體眼中看來是有欠嚴謹的遵從機制。(有關更多的協議結論內容，請參閱Earth Negotiations Bulletin中的總結報告，此由國際永續發展協會(International Institute for Sustainable Development)所提供)。　

　　根據歐盟官方說法,歐洲各國仍然依循著京都協議的目標，將其總排放量穩定地維持在1990年的排放水準。他們說：「假如我們依照著我們在再生能源、課稅等方面的承諾來努力的話」，排放量就會跟著顯著地降低了。(路透社。09.20.00)

　　在國內，一項由美國能源效率經濟理事會(American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy)所做的研究顯示在過去三十年以來，美國已經成功地將每單位國內總生產量所產生的碳排放量減少了將近一半。然而，我們快速的經濟成長，加上車輛及SUVs所增加的碳排放量，意味著如果我們要在2010年之前達成減量7%的目標，則還有許多地方是我們必須要努力的。

　　就在同時，地球之友(Friends of the Earth)、綠色和平(Greenpeace)、世界野生生物基金會(World Wildlife Fund.)及其他的組織最近設立了一個網站，預計在十一月十三日海牙會議(Hague Conference)開始前，要達到有一千萬人傳送訊息的目的，以對與會各國施加壓力，期望他們能做出公平有效的氣候協議。你也可以到這個網站參觀並送出你自己的訊息，同時也傳送一張電子圖卡給你的朋友，請他們一起來共襄盛舉。根據該站統計，目前已傳送的訊息已經超過一百萬封了。

　　本月Heat Beat最佳氣候報導獎屬於誰呢？也許是Molly Ivins的連載專欄〝column on global warming〞，她在文中將人類比喻成「全球最勤奮工作的動物，努力將我們的環境改變得更糟糕」。

　　同時也別忘了去逛逛上期Ｅ Magazine可怕的氣候特寫，其中也有許多來自於世界各地的記者作家的文章，敘述因氣候改變所造成即時的、真實的災害，發生在即使是南極與紐約這兩個完全不同的地方。

全文及圖示詳見:http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/heatbeat/thisjustin092900.stm

Leonie Haimson是前Liberty Tree Alliance網站的專欄作家，她也是為環境防衛基金會(Environmental Defense Fund.)所寫的The Way Things Really Are: Debunking Rush Limbaugh on the Environment一書共同作者之一，同時也為聯合國環境規劃署(U.N. Environment Program)編寫一份氣候變遷常見疑問(Common Questions on Climate Change)。

版權歸屬 Grist Magazine 環境信託基金會 (陳均輝 譯，林子倫 審校)

中英對照全文：http://news.ngo.org.tw/issue/climate/sub-cc00103101.htm

This month, the news from the climate negotiations in Lyon, France, was eclipsed by the vehement blockades and protests throughout Europe against high fuel taxes. Fuel tax increases are an integral part of the European strategy to raise revenues, encourage conservation, and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Combined with crude oil prices that are the highest since the 1990-1991 Gulf War, these taxes have caused a grassroots rebellion among truckers, farmers, and other small business owners across the Continent. Protesters have blocked roads in Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, and elsewhere.

And one by one, European governments have begun to make concessions. The French government was the first to cave in, followed by the Dutch, who offered temporary rebates to commercial vehicles and cut taxes on diesel fuel. Italy immediately reduced diesel prices and pledged to freeze the national carbon tax on fossil fuels at 2000 levels.

So far the German and British governments have stood firm -- though in both countries, the main opposition parties are both trying to take advantage of the controversy. "The so-called ecology tax is a big mistake which has little to do with the environment and a lot with taking in money," said Christian Democrat Ruprecht Polenz of Germany. "Our country's people and economy are being harmed" (Planet Ark, Reuters, 09.20.00).

The British Conservative Party was even more critical, and pledged that it would sharply cut taxes on fuel if put into power. "If the government thinks we can save the environment by persecuting motorists and driving people off the road, then they really are going totally in the wrong direction," said Tory leader William Hague. Taxes make up fully 75 percent of the price of gasoline in Britain -- and for the first time in eight years, the Conservatives are now leading Labour in the polls (Planet Ark, Reuters, 09.21.00).

Don't think politicians in the U.S. aren't watching. Here, gasoline prices have also hit a 10-year high, and despite relatively low fuel taxes, the issue has been thrust into the center of the presidential campaigns. George W. Bush called for redoubling pressure on OPEC countries to expand production and opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Al Gore proposed releasing oil from the U.S. emergency strategic reserves, and President Clinton quickly complied. These reserves have been tapped only once before -- during the Gulf War (Reuters, 09.21.00).

Gore is in a particularly difficult spot, and one that will only become more troublesome if he is elected president. Recently endorsed by the Sierra Club and the Teamsters, there is no way he will ever satisfy both constituencies at once in the effort to reduce emissions from cars and trucks.

Lyon Down on the Job

Negotiators from 150 countries met in Lyon from Sept. 11-15 to try to finalize preparations for COP-6, the next major critical round of climate change negotiations to be held in The Hague in November. COP-6 will be the most important international meeting on climate since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in December 1997. It will be deemed a success only if it leads to sufficient concerted actions by enough developed countries to make possible the substantial greenhouse gas reductions by 2010 that the treaty requires. In order for this to happen, a whole lot of very contentious issues still need to be resolved.

According to most accounts, little progress was made in Lyon. Still under debate are the compliance methods to be used, whether carbon stored in forestry "sinks" will be credited, and how much international trading in reductions will be allowed. The U.S., Canada, and some other nations are pushing the notion that efforts to plant trees or preserve forests should count as "carbon sinks" and thus be credited as emission reductions. The U.S. also argues that trading in emissions rights should be unlimited -- that is, credit should be given for any amount of greenhouse gas reductions from projects funded by developed countries but taking place in developing -- a proposal which is opposed by many, though not all, environmental groups.

On the other hand, the European nations object strongly to both proposals -- though they will be allowed to offset emissions among themselves to reach their overall target of 8 percent reductions by 2010. At the same time, the Europeans are also pushing for compliance mechanisms that many in the environmental community see as less than rigorous. (For more on the negotiations just concluded, see the summaries in the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.)

According to EU officials, the Europeans are still on track to meet their Kyoto targets, having stabilized their overall emissions at 1990 levels. Significant reductions will follow, they say, "if we do what we promise to do in the fields of renewables, taxation, etc." (Reuters, 09.20.00).

Here at home, a study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy shows that the U.S. has cut its carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product by nearly half over the last 30 years. Still, our rapid economic growth, plus growing emissions from cars and SUVs, means that much more needs to be done if we're ever to achieve our target of 7 percent reductions by 2010.

Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund, and others recently launched a new website that aims by the time the Hague Conference begins on Nov. 13 to get 10 million people to send messages putting pressure on world leaders to come up with a fair and effective climate treaty. You can visit the website to send your own message and send an illustrated postcard to your friends, asking that they do the same. According to the site, more than 1 million messages have already been sent.

Overly Eager Beavers

The Heat Beat award for best climate story of the month? Try Molly Ivins's syndicated column on global warming in which she calls the human race "the berserk beavers of the world, changing our own environment, often for the worse even for us."

And also be sure to check out the tremendous climate feature in the latest E Magazine, with postings from writers around the globe who describe the real-time, real-life damage already being wrought by climate change, in locales as disparate as Antarctica and New York City.

Leonie Haimson was the climate columnist for the former Liberty Tree Alliance website. She co-authored The Way Things Really Are: Debunking Rush Limbaugh on the Environment for the Environmental Defense Fund, and edited Common Questions on Climate Change for the U.N. Environment Program.

http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/heatbeat/thisjustin092900.stm