A Brussels summit of EU leaders has agreed to proposed new goals on greenhouse emission reductions, renewable energy and biofuels.
The leaders accepted targets put forward by the European Commission ensuring that by 2020 emissions are reduced by 20 per cent below 1990 levels, 20 per cent of power is from renewable sources and that biofuels make up 10 per cent of transport fuels.
While the summit committed the EU to these targets overall, each of the 27 member countries would have differentiated national targets set with their consent. This is likely to mean a drawn-out process of target setting by negotiation between Brussels and each member state.
French President Jacques Chirac says any renewables fuel target should recognise the low-carbon contribution from countries with nuclear power, but there is opposition to this from Germany and other EU nations phasing out nuclear energy.
The head of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC), Yvo de Boer, said the agreement was "courageous" and important for a new global agreement to replace Kyoto after 2012.
Developing countries are looking for commitment on emissions reductions from the industrialised world first before they consider cuts themselves. The US, however, still opposes mandatory targets under the current Bush Administration.
German chancellor Angela Merkel now wants to use the EU agreement as a springboard for the G8 summit in June to advance climate change action with the US, Japan, Canada and Russia.
It's estimated that the new EU targets will in turn bring on another $15 billion in investment in clean energy in developing countries through Kyoto’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The EU leaders summit also agreed to fast-track proposals to phase out incandescant light globes by 2010. Agreement to restructure of the EU energy market by breaking up monopolies into separate generation and distribution businesses had been predicted but did not eventuate.
Reuters 9/3/07, Independent Online 12/3/07
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