Europe’s pushed to meet pollution targets agreed under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. According to a research, it could dent its economies and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2010. As governments chase greenhouse gas reduction targets set out under Kyoto that came into force in February, there will be a loss of at least 200,000 jobs in each of Italy , Germany, Britain and Spain . As energy bills soar, compliance with Kyoto’s greenhouse gas reduction targets could hit gross domestic product in the concerned states, as predicted by the pro-business think-tank International Council for Capital Formation (ICCF).
To add to it, average increases of 26 percent in electricity prices and 41 prices in gas prices by 2010 were also predicted in the ICCF’s study. Even Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) could be reduced by 0.8 percent from base case levels by 2010, with Spain and Britain suffering reductions of 3.1 percent and 1.1 percent respectively, the ICCF said. May making similar predictions, the United States have refused to sign up to Kyoto, as it said it could damage the US economy.
Via: Reuters, Yahoo News