U.S. behind G-8 nations on emissions. Cap and Trade Should Help!

US lagging behind G8 nations on emissions reductions

Congress may have recently backed president Barrack Obama's climate change bill, but a new report has indicated that the US trails behind most other G8 countries in terms of its efforts to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

According to the WWF's annual G8 Climate Scorecard, Germany, the UK and France have taken the most positive action to date from the group, each reducing its emissions and meeting targets set out by the Kyoto protocol ahead of time.However, US emissions have risen by 15 percent since 1990 and the nation is ranked seventh in terms of its performance on GHGs, ahead of just Canada in last place.

The Scorecard, created by the environmental organization in association with financial services group Allianz, ranked Italy in fourth position, Japan in fifth and Russia in sixth.WWF president Carter Roberts claimed that the US has resisted action on CO2 emissions in recent years while other countries have moved forward.

"Other nations have dramatically cut greenhouse gas pollution, set national targets, ramped up investments in energy technology and set regulatory frameworks to spark innovation in key sectors," he added."And now other countries dominate markets in sustainable energy and technology."

However, the report suggested that none of the countries are currently making enough of a contribution to limiting global climate change to less than two degrees C.The UK was ranked first in terms of its participation in carbon markets, due in part to its support of the EU Emission Trading System, while Germany, France, Japan and Italy also scored relatively highly compared to the US, Canada and Russia.