NEWS OF THE WEEK
CLIMATE CHANGE HEATS UP G-8 INTERNATIONAL POLICY: Rift
between U.S. and Germany remains stark at start of summit
E
VEN BEFORE THE START of the June 6-8 sum mit of leaders of the Group of Eight leading in dustrial nations, climate change emerged as one of the pivotal issues. Disparate climate policies have caused rifts between the U.S. and Europe that appeared unlikely to be completely resolved during the meeting. In addition, China announced its climate-change goals, saying it would raise energy efficiency 20% by 2020 and increase the use of renewable resources, but it rejected binding emissions targets. China is not an official G-8 member, but it will participate in the talks along with other leading developing countries such as India, Brazil, and South Africa. Germany, which holds the presidency of the G-8 this year, has crafted a declaration for the G-8 members to sign that would establish new post-Kyoto protocol goals on climate change. The declaration proposes to freeze global greenhouse gas emissions within the next 10 to 15 years, cut those emissions to 50% of 1990 levels by 2050, and limit global warming to 2 °C above the preindustrial level of about 1880. In addition to Germany, G-8 mem bers include Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. But President George W. Bush rejected these points. In a blunt memo, the White House wrote: "We have tried to 'tread lightly,' but there is only so far we can go given our fundamental opposition to the German position." Instead, in a surprise move on May 31, Bush outlined a
new strategy for setting worldwide goals to reduce C0 2 emissions. By the end of 2008, he said, the U.S. and oth er nations will "set a long-term goal for reducing green house gases." In addition, "each country would establish midterm national targets and programs that reflect its own mix of energy sources and future energy needs," he said. Separately, an Administration official explained that the U.S. would convene a climate conference of representatives from the world's 15 largest economies, including India and China, as early as autumn. The of ficial also said the established emissions targets would not be mandatory. Έ Bush's statements on climate, 8 especially his proposal to hold g talks outside the United Naξ tions, were rejected by both Ger- £ man Chancellor Angela Merkel | and British Prime Minister Tony £ Blair. On June 3 in Berlin, Blair £ said the G-8 meeting should set mandatory goals for reducing carbon emissions, pledge to es tablish a global carbon market, and commit to a UN-led process for addressing climate change. Members of Congress were also critical of Bush's plan. In a press conference on June 4, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) condemned the Bush proposal on climate change, calling it "a sham" and "not construc tive." He added that "China has put something on the table that is real. It is enforceable and measurable." A bipartisan group of senators wrote a letter to Bush on June 4, urging him to accept Merkel's proposal for a climate-change declaration. "We believe your sup port for [these principles] could open the door to the meaningful participation of developing nations in a global solution" to the climate problem, the letter said.-BETTEHILEMAN
Bush and Merkel clashed about climate change prior to the G-8 summit
CHEMICAL REGULATION Curtain finally rises on Europe's REACH program After more than three years of wrangling about wording and coverage, REACH, the European chemicals regulatory program, has come into force. The new European Chemicals Agency will administer REACH, which stands for Regulation, Evaluation & Authorization of Chemicals. It aims to bring all chemicals and compounds into a health and safety regime standardized throughout the 27member European Union. Manufacturers have 18 months to preregister their products and will then have 11 years to generate safety data on the products. An estimated 30,000 chemicals and
compounds will be affected by REACH. How many of these substances will actu ally be tested by producers, though, is unclear. "When similar legislation was introduced for biocides recently, we found that only about 4 0 % of the sub stances that were preregistered went on to complete a full registration" with the complete safety workups, observes Dave Gordon, partner and environmental law expert at British legal firm Eversheds. "The remainder were either modified significantly, replaced, or scrapped alto gether because they were considered to be no longer viable." Larger chemical companies are well-
WWW.CEN-0NLINE.ORG
1C
JUNE 11, 2007
prepared for REACH. At Degussa, for example, "we are actively preparing for preregistration as a first step" to meeting REACH regulations, reports Jochen Ru dolph, head of the Corporate Division of Environment, Safety, Health & Quality. Ernst Schwanhold, head of the BASF Center of Competence for the Environ ment, Safety & Energy, says his company will register about 2,500 chemical enti ties under REACH and expects annual costs of $65 million through 2018. For smaller companies, complying with REACH will put more of a strain on their resources, industry observers say.-PATRICIA SHORT
