IN SPITE of awareness about greenhouse gases in the West, emissions there are on the increase.

According to Marcus Rand of Greenpeace, national plans on greenhouse gas emissions for most European Community nations are in jeopardy because of commitments to build new fossil fuel power stations and new roads throughout Europe.

Greenpeace has filed a case in the European Court in Luxembourg against the European Community for providing 40 million ECU (S45 million) for constructing two power projects in the Canary Islands in Spain, saying it is "illegally funding the climate disaster". If the two stations are built, they will pump an extra 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmo. sphere every year.

In USA, the voluntary Climate Change Action Plan has been criticised for ignoring the transportation sector, which accounts for about one-third of the carbon emissions in the US and is growing faster than any other source of greenhouse pollution. According to the Sierra Club, though the action plan saves about 110 million tonnes of greenhouse gases by the year 2000, making cars go further on a gallon of petrol would account for 140 million tonnes annually by 2010.

"Therefore," said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists, "the bottom line is that if President Clinton is sincere in his desire to meet head- on the serious threat of global warming, he will have to meet head-on these special interests who benefit from the status quo."