Europe sets bold global warming targets

Sun Herald
Sunday 11/3/2007 Page: 45

EUROPEAN Union leaders have agreed on bold measures to fight global warming, pledging that, by 2020, a fifth of the bloc's energy will come from green-power sources such as wind turbines and solar panels and 10 per cent of European cars will run on biofuels.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel challenged other nations to follow suit, saying the world still had time to "avoid what could well be a human calamity" caused by climate change.

At French insistence, the deal noted the role atomic energy could play in replacing coal- or oil-fired power plants blamed for pumping out greenhouse gases. That caused unease for non-nuclear states such as Austria and Ireland and triggered complaints from environmental groups.

French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair both hailed the deal, which does not yet include an enforcement mechanism, as a turning point in the global warming fight. "This is part of the great moments of European history," Mr Chirac said.

The agreement makes three main promises to be fulfilled in the next 13 years.

• Greenhouse gas emissions will be cut by at least 20 per cent from 1990 levels;
• The EU will produce 20 per cent of its power through renewable energy, a massive increase from the current figure of about 6 per cent;
• One-tenth of all cars and trucks in the 27 EU nations should be running on biofuels made from plants.

"These are a set of groundbreaking, bold, ambitious targets," Mr Blair said. "It gives Europe a clear leadership position on this crucial issue facing the world." European leaders hope their commitment will encourage leading polluters, such as the US, Russia, China and India, to agree on emissions cuts.

Ms Merkel intends to present the plans to US President George Bush and other leaders at a summit of the Group of Eight industrialised nations she will host in June.

Lawyers still have to draw up rules on how the deal will be enforced, but European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the legislation "will be subject to all instruments of community law". That implies the EUs executive arm would be able to launch legal action and fine countries that violate targets.