Journalist Robert Collier outlines the ideas presented by European parliamentarian and environmentalist Daniel Cohn-Bendit during his CLAS visit.
The lack of American leadership on the environment and climate change has created a power vacuum that many are hoping Europe will fill and Latin America will emulate. But after championing the Kyoto Protocol and taking the lead on action against global warming, European Union nations have been struggling to turn their good intentions into viable climate policies. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the leader of Europe’s Greens, says that while European integration is still a model for the world, it is weakening steadily. During a visit to the Center for Latin American Studies on September 29, Cohn-Bendit said that despite what he called Europe’s unwillingness to buck U.S. power, it had the potential to join with Latin America to pursue multilateralism and low-carbon energy policies.
