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EU Will Present Pathway to 2050 Carbon Goal Next Year (Update1)
2010-09-30 16:19:11.649 GMT
(Updates with Christensen comment from third paragraph.)
By Ewa Krukowska
Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union plans to propose
a scenario on reaching its 2050 emissions-reduction target in
the first quarter, said Michael Christensen, deputy chief of
cabinet for the EU climate commissioner.
The 27-nation bloc is on schedule to meet its 2020 goal of
cutting greenhouse gases by 20 percent from 1990 levels and aims
to reduce them by 80 to 95 percent in 2050, ensuring it remains
a leader in the fight against global warming, he said.
"Early next year, probably in the first quarter, we will
present a communication what we have to do from now on to
2050," Christensen told reporters today during a seminar on
low-carbon investment in Brussels. "One thing we will put in
there is where we should be in 2030."
The EU has said it is ready to tighten its 2020 target to
30 percent should other countries follow suit. It stopped short
of moving to a more ambitious goal at a global climate summit in
Copenhagen last year, citing a lack of comparable effort by the
U.S. and China.
Member states remain at odds on whether the bloc should
increase its ambitions and have asked the European Commission,
the EU regulator, to prepare a detailed analysis on costs of
moving to a stricter target at national levels.
"Some member states say let's do it unilaterally, others
say conditionally," Christensen said. "Let's have a discussion
about it. What are the benefits, what are the drawbacks, based
on a solid analysis."
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said yesterday
he would propose at the next summit of the EU heads of state
that the bloc should unilaterally deepen its goal. French,
German and U.K. officials said in July the EU should move to a
30 percent target or risk falling behind the U.S. and China in
developing low-carbon technology.
Polish Environment Minister Andrzej Kraszewski said earlier
this month a unilateral move would be "counterproductive."
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ECREDITS <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
Sustainability, environmental indexes SEI <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Raj Rajendran
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-2-237-4331 or
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
