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THE Commission has signed an international convention on the trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides. The Prior Informed Consent Convention (PICC) was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. It covers 22 pesticides and five industrial chemicals although additional substances are likely to be added in the future. The main provisions of the convention are: the promotion of shared responsibility of dangerous chemicals and their sound use by all the signatory countries; importing countries to be given the power to decide which chemicals to include and exclude; exchange of information between signatory countries about potentially hazardous chemicals to be imported; and the use of standard requirements on the labelling and provision of information on health and environmental effects of substances. The Convention will come into effect when at least 50 states ratify it but an interim procedure based on voluntary compliance comes into force immediately.
How's your motor? |
Green taxes |
NatWest wins award |
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COMPARING cars for their fuel economy could be easier in the future thanks to EU rules on clearer labelling. The proposed rules are part of the EU strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from passenger cars. The rules would make information available to consumers in four ways. A label attached to all cars, displayed at point of sale, with information on fuel consumption and the average CO2 emissions of the car; a fuel economy guide, free to the public, with data on fuel use for all new cars on the market, with advice for motorists on measures they can take to improve the fuel consumption of their vehicles; a poster on fuel consumption of all new cars available at a particular dealership allowing for comparisons between similar models; and the inclusion of official fuel consumption data in promotional literature. |
Europe's parliamentarians have called for member states to introduce energy and pollution taxes in order to reduce emissions to the levels agreed at Kyoto last year. The members of the Environment Committee called for the introduction last month of taxes on energy and carbon dioxide emissions, for the European Commission to explain what the EU must do to meet its emission commitments 'as a matter of urgency' and for Europe's commissioners to produce a green paper on green taxes. |
THE WINNERS of the 1998 European Better Environment Awards for Industry were announced in the summer. The NatWest banking group won the Managing Sustainable Development award. Waste laws ignoredTHERE ARE four European directives on waste management but member states are not implementing them. MEPs attacked the Commission in a recent debate for not taking governments to court for ignoring the law. The Commission has been asked to come up with a list of cases taken to the European Court of Justice, which has the power to censure member states for breaching treaties. |
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