Grey, rainy Christmas.

The Christmas holidays in most of Sweden have been grey, rainy and quite warm but also very relaxing and nice. This afternoon it has become a little chilly outside, but it’s not winter temperatures yet. This year has been the year when the Swedish media has explored the climate changes more seriously than ever.
Well, a New Year is soon to begin and in many homes in Sweden one gives oneself a New Year promise, you know like stop smoking or start jogging. Even that can be hard to figure out and how about the global New Year promise dealing with the climate changes? Will it differ if I do something? Of course it will, but it will differ more if the nations give the right prerequisites and give economical and social advantages if one does something good for the environment.
I can imagine how hard the Bali negotiations must have been, however finally they reach a compromise and what do we know, in a few years that ought to be sharpened, it seems as the action has begun, or??

Trade with emission rights for flights
The environmental council with the ministers of environment in Europe yesterday agreed to fully integrate all air flights in the trade with emission rights from 2012. At the start 90 % of the emission rights will be allotted to the airline companies for free. The last 10 % will be sold by auctions. The percentage that will be auctioned will increase year by year. The total amount will be decided by the average emission of the airline sector 2004-2006. The distribution of emission rights will be harmonized within the European Union and emission rights from the exciting trade system shall be made possible to use by the airline sector. I wonder if this is the best tool to decrease the emissions from aircrafts. But, perhaps it’s better than nothing.

Bali
Finally, the leaders of so many countries could manage to compromise about a solution; to negotiate for two more years. No real figures of decrease of greenhouse gases are mentioned, just intervals of possible results. However, the result of the negotiations is called a success in media and by participating politicians. I would like to see the real content of the treaty before I call it a success. I can not imagine how there will be possible to undertake measures from this sort of inexact compromise at different organisational levels in he world. But if all countries, including the US and China and India, will participate actively in future measures and take their part of decreasing the greenhouse gases, that is of course quite good.

Sustainable municipalities in Sweden
I participated last week in a conference in Uppsala, where the Swedish Energy Agency, launched the initiative with sustainable municipalities. In total 63 cities, whereof Karlstad was one, had applied their interest to participate. The Energy Agency decided to support all of the applications for the coming four years. I will come back and report more about the initiative further ahead.