WWF bashes EU on endangered species and climate change
TERESA KÜCHLER
03.03.2006 @ 09:59 CET
Brussels is spending millions of European Union fund money on roads and dams that constitute a threat to the survival of endangered animals, a new environmental study says.
The WWF report "Conflicting EU funds" shows that despite the EU's pronounced commitment to halt the decrease of biodiversity by 2010, vast sums of EU money are being spent on infrastructural projects which threaten endangered species in Europe.
EU funds destroy natural habitats for endangered species, says WWF report (Photo: EUobserver.com)
EU funds have for instance been used to fund over-fishing of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean, while other EU subsidies have caused severe harm to cork oak forests in Portugal.
Furthermore, the report states that EU funds are used for activities that are recognised as environmental threats by the EU itself.
Twenty EU-funded dams and 16 roads in Spain will seriously damage a prime area for the lynx - the world's most endangered cat species - protected under the EU's own "Natura 2000 network".
Similarly, in Greece, the EU is supporting a "LIFE project" to protect brown bears, while Brussels cash is also funding the planned Egnatia Highway, which threatens the very same bears.
"This is an unacceptable situation caused by wrong decisions at national or regional level and poor coordination between member states and the European Commission," said Stefanie Lang, Regional Policy Officer at WWF’s European Policy Office.
The WWF urged the EU to withdraw funds for infrastructure projects that conflict with its own nature protection rules.
The continent is threatened by winds
Meanwhile, another environmental report, also by the WWF, shows that Europe is likely to suffer severe storms and extreme weather in future winters because of climate change, unless CO2 emissions are reduced dramatically.
The report "Stormy Europe" presents scientific findings on future storm activity across western and central Europe. The countries included in the analysis are the UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Italy.
The UK will according to the report see the largest increase in storm activity with top wind speeds in this region potentially rising by up to 16%.
France would also see a large increase in winter storm activity, with the number of storms likely to grow by up to 10-20% by the end of the century.
"A dangerous wind of change is blowing across Europe," said Jennifer Morgan, Director of WWF’s Global Climate Change Programme.
"We have to take this threat seriously and stop climate pollution in order to protect people and their properties from devastating storms. If we don’t act soon our last chance will be blown away."
The report notes that the power sector is the world’s biggest climate polluter, responsible for 37 per cent of man-made CO2 emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels like coal.
"Right now EU governments have the chance to drastically cut CO2 and clean up the power sector," adds Morgan. "They must strengthen the CO2 limits under the Emissions Trading Scheme, or the storms are going to hit Europe harder than ever before."
