With the departure of George W. Bush from office, we have long been told, relations between the U.S. and Europe will improve. The assumption is that his successor — whomever it would be — would be certain to listen more closely to Europe’s concerns.
Here are a few from today’s OpenEurope update (various links available at the OpenEurope site):
Le Figaro reports on a recent unpublished study from the German Economy Ministry, which estimates that 100,000 German jobs are threatened if heavy industry is forced to pay for permits to pollute.
The front page of the IHT reports on how the free allocation of permits to pollute under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme has led to windfall profits for power generators. German power giant RWE is estimated to have received a windfall profit of roughly 5 billion euros in the first three years of the system – more than any other company in Europe. But emissions have risen steadily at RWE since the trading system began.
A leader in the WSJ on carbon reduction policy urges Barack Obama to pay attention to what is happening in Europe: “The Europeans once believed the ‘green jobs’ myth too. Now, as blue-collar workers take to the streets, they have learned that climate-change legislation means green unemployment.”
Is anyone listening?