Europe keeps conditional 30% emission target

The EU remains committed to increase its emission reduction target to 30% by 2020 if other industrialised countries made comparable efforts, according to a compromise agreement reached by member state representatives in Brussels on Wednesday.
The agreement, which will be submitted in a letter to the UN, is expected to be approved by EU governments before a 31 January deadline for registering countries' emission reduction targets and other commitments to tackle climate change. EU diplomats also agreed to submit a single target for 2020 rather than national targets (Source: Ends)

Targets and commitments will appear in an annex of the Copenhagen accord, which has only been backed a small group of countries so far. On Wednesday, the UK and the Netherlands again pushed for a single 30% target, the 20% target being only mentioned in a footnote. Poland, Italy and the European Commission wanted the opposite.

In the end EU diplomats agreed to include both targets in the accord. A footnote will reiterate Europe's long-standing position that the 20% emission reduction target is binding while the other depends on others making comparable efforts in the context of an international climate treaty.

The debate over how to present the numbers was important because it reflects differing views on the EU's post-Copenhagen negotiating strategy, a diplomat at the meeting told ENDS. Some believe it should continue to pursue ambitious goals while others want to adopt a more pragmatic approach.

The UN letter was jointly authored by the commission and Spanish EU presidency on behalf of member states. Suggestions for an unconditional 30% or 25% cut reportedly made by Germany and Belgium respectively at an informal environment ministerial last weekend were not repeated at Wednesday's meeting, ENDS understands.