Barroso: Copenhagen climate pledges not enough

Nov 29, 2009, 13:44 GMT

Nanjing, China - Pledges made to next month's Copenhagen summit on climate change are not enough to stop global warming, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Sunday.

'So far we are not there,' Barroso said after a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao ahead of an EU-China summit in the eastern city of Nanjing on Monday.

The Portuguese diplomat welcomed the latest commitments by China, the United States and other countries to reduce the output of greenhouse gases - a major factor in global warming.

'If we sum up all commitments we are not where we should be,' he said, in reference to demands by scientists to limit the increase in global warming to under 2 degrees Celsius.

He said no one should lose sight of how important this goal is in ensuring the future of the planet.

'In Copenhagen we should adopt an ambitious and operational agreement enabling the signing of a treaty as soon as possible,' Barroso said.

He said the pledges made by the rich industrial countries must be taken into account as well as the appropriate measures of developing countries and the financial assistance offered to them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the results of global warming.

World leaders are meeting in the Danish capital of Copenhagen from December 7-18 to prepare a successor to the Kyoto protocol to limit greenhouse gases, which expires in 2012.

On Saturday, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official Helen Clark welcomed China's new pledge to reduce carbon intensity.

   Speaking at the end of her three-day China visit, the former New Zealand Prime Minister said China's target to reduce carbon intensity 40-45 per cent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels will be 'important for generating an agreement' in Copenhagen.

   However, she added that it will require 'enormous effort' for China to clean up industries, implement new transport systems and design clean, green sustainable cities.

   Clark said the Copenhagen summit is a chance to reach a political agreement that 'could be translated over the next six months to one year into a legally binding treaty'.