EU countries disagree over emission cuts target (1st Lead)

Jan 16, 2010, 12:16 GMT

Seville, Spain - European Union countries struggled Saturday to reach consensus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions before a January 31 deadline established at the Copenhagen climate change conference, sources close to the negotiations said.

The meeting of EU environmental ministers, chaired by the Spanish presidency and held in Seville, was to discuss the EU's stance on emissions reductions.

The bloc has long said that it would cut emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 compared to 1990, increasing this to 30 per cent if other countries make comparable commitments.

But some countries, including Britain and the Netherlands, are now saying they want the EU to commit to a 30 per cent reduction. Others, such as Poland and Italy, say they want to omit any reference to that target, the sources said.

The EU's executive body, the European Commission, said in an informal discussion paper ahead of the meeting that the EU should immediately start implementing the Copenhagen agreement in order to pave the way for the adoption of a legally binding climate change treaty this year.

Spanish officials said the EU should aim at a stronger agreement at the next UN climate conference in Mexico between November and December, despite the Copenhagen conference only producing a broad and non-binding agreement.

Some observers say EU is trying to regain its influence in the global climate change talks after being sidelined in Copenhagen.

'We want to be a strategic driving force again,' German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said.