Germany to propose radical CO2 cuts at EU summit: report

Mar 4, 2007, 16:19 GMT

Berlin - Germany is to propose radical long-term cuts to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at the European Union summit in Brussels this week, according to a report in the Monday edition of the financial daily Handelsblatt.

The proposal is for industrialized nations to cut emissions by 60-80 per cent by 2050, a measure that goes considerably further than the 20-per-cent cut by 2020 suggested by EU environment ministers last month, according to the Handelsblatt report.

The proposal is contained in a draft summit declaration prepared by Germany, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency.

If the summit agrees to the proposal, the German government is to put it to the G8 summit being held at Heiligendamm in Germany in June.

The draft also proposes that CO2 emissions be cut by 30 per cent by 2020, rather than the 20-per-cent proposal from the environment ministers, which has found opposition from some members of the 27- nation bloc.

The EU summit declaration is to be published Friday at the close of the two-day summit in Brussels.