Did you know that cars are used for almost eight out of every ten kilometres travelled in the European Union?

TVE's second Earth Report European Special gets to the heart of this and other issues concerning the air we breathe and how we pollute it.

We follow cycle activists in London as they take to the streets defying the millions who stubbornly refuse to abandon their cars.

We also discover the revolutionary air quality monitoring system operating in Vienna and find exciting developments in Germany's solar city and environmental capital Freiburg. NaturEnergie provides green electricity there,whilst Solarmarketing raises the profile of sun-energy. Earth Report is also pleased to find encouraging scientific evidence from Finland that nature is recovering from acid rain.

Q & A session with Stephan Singer, Head of European Climate and Energy Policy Unit at WWF's European Policy Office:

TVE: What is the Kyoto protocol?

Stephan Singer: The 1997 Kyoto protocol is a major tool in the attempt to control climate change - it's a legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, signed by 160 countries. Industrialised countries - responsible for two thirds of global emissions - have to reduce their emissions by a modest 5 per cent of the 1990 levels during the next decade. This is not enough, but the protocol provides a legal framework for more effective reductions in the future.

TVE: How effectively are we reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in Europe?

SS: NGO campaigns in the '80s were relatively successful and legislation reduced air pollution by 20 - 50 per cent in many countries. By 2010 agreements on trans-boundary air pollution will reduce sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides by 75 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. However, the EU has merely stabilised CO2 emissions (the largest contributor to global warming), and these will grow by 20 per cent in the next decade unless renewable energy grows and energy saving technologies enter the market. Public transport needs to be addressed urgently as the ever-increasing use of cars and lorries in the EU is still outweighing the technological benefits of cleaner engines yet to come.

TVE: How is WWF campaigning to improve air quality and slow down climate change in Europe?

SS: : We are focusing on reducing fossil fuel use and its replacement through emission-free renewable energy. We are fighting for a legally binding EU directive that will double, at least, the use of solar, wind and sustainable biomass energies. With "green" industries, we are campaigning for the combined use of heat and power (co-generation energy), more efficient appliances and low energy houses. We are also promoting climate solutions and clean technologies as good for the economy - they create more jobs than nuclear or conventional fuels.

TVE: What can individuals do to help to solve the problem?

*Use public transport and cycle;

*Buy cars with low fuel consumption;

*Purchase energy efficient appliances;

*Purchase "green electricity";

*Only heat rooms where people are; switch off the power wasting "stand-by" mode of appliances;

*Insulate walls and ceilings, install double glazing and solar panels.