An Interview With Stavros Dimas

Stavros Dimas, environmental commissioner for the European Union, says the global economic crisis is no reason to lose focus on efforts to fight climate change. In fact, during an interview with Yale Environment 360, Dimas said environmental issues like carbon reductions remain urgent for security, economic and social reasons. “The climate crisis is going to have permanent impacts, which will start — have already started — because climate change is already here,” Dimas said. “And it will be more intense and frequent in the future.” During a wide-ranging interview, Dimas talked about how the EU has succeeded in reached its early goals of cutting carbon emissions, the lessons of its emissions trading system, and why the United States should not give away permits in a cap-and-trade system. And if the U.S. and Europe ever expect China and India to make meaningful contributions to the war against global warming, he said, they will have to take the lead. Click here to read the full interview.