European Union leaders are wrangling
over how to spread the pain as they close in on the most-ambitious climate goals of any major economy, part of a deal
that will also boost the security of energy supplies amid a
natural-gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
Heads of government from the bloc’s 28 nations are discussing a binding target to cut greenhouse gases by at least 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 at a summit in Brussels today, according to draft conclusions obtained by Bloomberg News. Meeting that goal would cost about 38 billion euros ($48 billion) a year, the EU has said. The current target is a 20 percent reduction by 2020.
“We’re aiming for the same effort in 10 years as we previously had in 30,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said before the gathering. “This is a formidable effort. That means the negotiations won’t be easy, because we also need to have our international competitiveness in mind.”
The question of how to share out the carbon cuts divides poorer, mostly ex-communist east European nations and richer countries in western Europe. France is also fighting calls from Spain and Portugal to build more gas and power connections across the Pyrenees while the U.K. resists German demands for binding targets on energy efficiency.
The agenda of the two-day meeting, the final one to be chaired by EU President Herman Van Rompuy, also features a debate on the European economy and on measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.
Read more: EU Leaders Fight Over How to Spread Pain of Toughest CO2 Goals - Bloomberg
Heads of government from the bloc’s 28 nations are discussing a binding target to cut greenhouse gases by at least 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 at a summit in Brussels today, according to draft conclusions obtained by Bloomberg News. Meeting that goal would cost about 38 billion euros ($48 billion) a year, the EU has said. The current target is a 20 percent reduction by 2020.
“We’re aiming for the same effort in 10 years as we previously had in 30,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said before the gathering. “This is a formidable effort. That means the negotiations won’t be easy, because we also need to have our international competitiveness in mind.”
The question of how to share out the carbon cuts divides poorer, mostly ex-communist east European nations and richer countries in western Europe. France is also fighting calls from Spain and Portugal to build more gas and power connections across the Pyrenees while the U.K. resists German demands for binding targets on energy efficiency.
The agenda of the two-day meeting, the final one to be chaired by EU President Herman Van Rompuy, also features a debate on the European economy and on measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.
Read more: EU Leaders Fight Over How to Spread Pain of Toughest CO2 Goals - Bloomberg
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