| Is it feasible for the UK to cut its emissions by 30%? Kwestie1 #48534 As proposed to the EU (by the U.K. Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt) |
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100115-705665.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlinesBy Bernd Radowitz
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SEVILLE, Spain (Dow Jones)--The European Union should stick to its offer to increase its target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions if other countries come up with similarly ambitious targets, U.K. Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt said Friday.
"We've always wanted to go to 30% alongside comparable offers from other countries. That remains our policy," Hunt said. "We will be working very hard in Europe with our colleagues to argue our points."
Hunt spoke to Dow Jones Newswires at the sidelines of a meeting of EU energy ministers that will be followed by a meeting of environment ministers Saturday, which is slated to discuss in more detail the EU's future climate change strategy after the near-failure of the Copenhagen summit.
The EU targets a 20% reduction of greenhouse gases from 1990 levels, and at the December climate summit in Copenhagen said it would boost that target to 30% if others went along.
Although other countries or regions in the world didn't match the EU's proposal in Copenhagen, Europe should "show a leadership position" through ambitious offers, Hunt said.
He added EU ministers in Seville will discuss which concrete offers to make by the end of January in the wake of the Copenhagen accord, a non-binding agreement to lower emissions.
-By Bernd Radowitz, Dow Jones Newswires, +34-91-395-8125, bernd.radowitz@dowjones.com |