Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this summer should be, for us politicians, our latest warning finally to take action on climate change. We talk a lot – obviously, and that is only right – of the thousands of victims in France and Portugal, but we forget that, this summer, floods in China have claimed four million victims, developing countries being more affected than ourselves. Faced with this fact, we must put a more resolute policy into effect. We can no longer be satisfied with our usual routine. As , we have therefore taken the initiative and written an open letter to Mr Prodi, the most important features of which I shall explain. What are we requesting? Firstly, we must set up a stability pact in relation to climate change. We cannot tolerate governments in Spain, Portugal and Ireland being indifferent to climate change and the European Union being ridiculed at international level because these governments are not assuming their responsibilities. European Environment Agency statistics clearly show the extent to which these governments are lagging behind. Secondly, what emerges from the analysis of the initiative on European infrastructure that has just been lodged by the Italian Presidency? Motorways and more motorways, regional airports and more regional airports! It is madness! We cannot now use the billions from the European Investment Bank or the billions from the European budget to pursue a transport policy that has completely lost its way. As , we are in favour of a policy of economic stimulation, but it must take the form of investment in the railways. We do not at present have the rail network needed for implementing a different policy on the transport of goods in Europe. We must make huge investments in these policies. Thirdly, the heatwave has shown that electricity-producing stations, extremely centralised as they are, were in danger of no longer being able to produce electricity if the rivers no longer had enough water or were too hot. A coal-fired power station and a nuclear reactor have a yield of less than 35%. This means that they heat the atmosphere more, with the risk of producing fish soup, and do not produce electricity in a way that respects the environment. We need to invest much more in decentralised forms of energy and, as , we would thank you, Mr Barnier, for pronouncing yourself ready to review the criteria relating to the structural and regional funds. I was taken aback by the fires in the Mediterranean. One of the problems is the clearing of scrub. In Austria, there is a policy of improving the status of wood. We are world leaders in wood heating. Electricity is now to be generated at the same time as wood is to be produced and, if Europe finances projects, the link will have to be made between necessary scrub clearance and improving the status of wood. Finally, Europe lags well behind when it comes to energy control. We have been waiting a year for two directives on energy control. Instead of wasting her time preventing the decline of the nuclear industry, Mrs de Palacio would do better finally to present the directives required if Europe is to catch up in this area. We have written to Mr Prodi to ask him to change up a gear and to coordinate his team better in the race against the clock to prevent climate change.

Political group: Verts-ALE