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EU Blocks Its Own Climate Change Emissions Cuts
October 14, 2016
EU Blocks Its Own Climate Change Emissions Cuts
GUILDFORD, Surrey, UK, October 14, 2016 E(NS) – The European Union’s own internal policy processes are blocking the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across the 28-member bloc, finds new research by an international team from Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Researchers from Sweden’s Linnaeus University, the University of Surrey and the Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom, interviewed policy officers in three Directorates-General of the European Commission on whether the policy process is on track to achieve climate objectives for the transport sector.
They found that emission reductions are hampered by existing policies that are seen to lack sufficient ambition, the interviews showed.
And there is internal disagreement over who is responsible for policy development.
Scarcity of data is regarded as a problem, especially in knowing whether the EU is on track to meet its targets.
Some policy officers are favoring economic goals over environmental ones, and their own professional backgrounds in industry are creating a bias towards serving the interests of industry lobby groups, the researchers learned.
Read more at Environment News Service.
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