” “"Climate change is an extremely serious world-scale threat that can only be warded off if we find an equally extensive solution". The EU Environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas, is in the United States for a series of meetings with Washington government officers and Congress members "to discuss the future international measures against climate change and other environmental issues". Just in the capital of the US, Dimas, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the enforcement of the Kyoto Protocol, which falls today, invites "the international community to urgently start negotiations for a far-ranging treaty", to involve all countries, following up on the Kyoto Protocol, which is due to expire on 2012. As to the current meetings with the American authorities, that began yesterday, Dimas states: "I am glad at seeing the United States are rapidly showing more interest in the emission quota exchange systems that we are already using in Europe as a key tool to contain greenhouse gas emissions". According to Dimas, Kyoto is "the first, fundamental step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but much more substantial reductions will be needed" to ward off "heavy economic, social and environmental consequences on all of mankind". (to be continued)” “
