If the world’s wealthy countries are serious about complying with the Kyoto climate treaty big changes are

If the world’s wealthy countries are serious about complying with the Kyoto climate treaty, big changes are ahead in the way they use energy. No country, says Nicholas Schoon, Environment Correspondent, faces a bigger challenge than the United States. The gas-guzzling era is coming to an end for the United States, the world’s biggest climate-change polluter in both absolute and per capita terms. Mr Prescott is no diplomat and seven months ago, piloting his battle bus during the general election campaign he would have seemed an unlikely, and inexperienced green. But in the past two months, and this week in particular, he has played a significant role in the negotiation of the Kyoto protocol. In the run- up to Kyoto he made two round-the-world trips to consult with the key parties; after arriving in Japan at the weekend, his irascible leadership has prevailed.
As a member of the “troika” – the past, present and future holders of the European presidency – Britain was always going to play a significant part in negotiations on the EU’s behalf in Kyoto. John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister and head of the British delegation, has suffered many irritations this week, but one in particular has been outstanding.

It reached its climax yesterday, at a meeting of EU ministers, which was being interrupted by the constant trilling of mobile phones. The chairman of the meeting, the Luxembourg environment minister, appeared unbothered by the commotion. According to one present, it was left to Mr Prescott to ask that they be switched off, in language rarely heard in ministerial conclaves. But the pressure group Save Our Railways revealed yesterday that complaints received by the two rail watchdog bodies covering South- east England totalled 2,551 for the period April-September 1997.Save Our Railways’ campaign director, Jonathan Bray, said that this compared with 2,474 received by the London Regional Passengers’ Committee and the Rail Users’ Consultative Committee for Southern England in the whole of the 1995-96 last year of British Rail-run services.. Moans about overcrowding and comfort on trains have also soared, statistics from watchdog body the Central Rail Users’ Consultative Committee showed.
The committee was giving more details following its announcement earlier this week that passenger complaints had risen to an all-time high in the July-September 1997 period.Based on complaints it had received, the committee’s statistics for July- September 1997 showed that;l Complaints totalled 4,560 – a 96.1 per cent rise on the July-September 1996 figure;l The highest number of complaints involved punctuality of trains;l Moans about reliability and cancellations soared 226 per cent, while complaints about the national rail inquiry service rose 322 per cent;l Complaints about the travelling environment and comfort on journeys rose by 128 per cent, while moans about information at stations was up 63 per cent;l Complaints in dealing with correspondence and the quality of letters received from train operators soared 266 per cent.The committee has not broken down the complaints into individual train companies. The poor had to make do with the “under class”: little more than cattle trucks with benches.Railtrack review, page 22.

Poor punctuality, reliability and information are rail passengers’ biggest bugbears, according to latest complaint figures published yesterday. The American banker JP Morgan even had a carriage for a barber’s shop. Many commuter lines still use slam-door rolling stock from the 1950s and with no new trains yet on the tracks, overcrowding will get worse. According to the latest figures from the Central Rail Users’ Consultative Committee, complaints about the travelling environment and comfort on journeys rose by 128 per cent.In fact, the rail network is likely to go back to the future.

In the Victorian era, the railways carried the bourgeoisie in sumptuous surroundings. It was not unusual to find showers, cocktail bars and fine restaurants in first-class carriages. Richard Branson’s new fleet of tilting trains will offer services similar to those found on his aeroplanes’ “Upper Class” cabins – including massages and video games.While the well-heeled get to sample the good life, passengers with lighter wallets are unlikely to see much change. Great North Eastern Railways, which runs the high-speed east coast line, has proposals to revive an up-market Motorail service, replete with a trolley service and cinema-style screens. We are not saying everything is now in place, but we are working to put measures in place. “In society there’s so much anti-social behaviour, crime and depression, and a lot of this is probably coming from people who are living in poverty,” she said.

“It’s so cliched, but our children are our future and that’s just a fact. If they aren’t getting off to a good start it doesn’t say much about the future of the country in general.”. The Prime Minister was confronted by Labour backbench anger over the cuts in benefits for lone parents at Question Time. Colin Brown, Chief, Political Correspondent, says a string of Labour MPs risked the wrath of the whips in speaking out against the Government.