The world’s industrial nations aren’t likely to meet the timetables for cutting emissions of carbon dioxide as called for in the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, according to a new study by the International Energy Agency. Continued economic growth in industrial nations has slowed a decline in the use of fossil fuels, according to IEA’s Lee Schipper, meaning that major changes, such as a doubling of the efficiency of automobile fleets, would be needed to meet the Kyoto target levels. The IEA study shows that the U.S. is among the least efficient nations in terms of using fuel for automobiles and home heating. The study comes out as diplomats are preparing for an October conference in Bonn to hammer out the treaty’s compliance mechanisms.
