EU summit reinstates ambitious climate goal, diplomats say (Extra)

Mar 26, 2010, 13:27 GMT

Brussels - European Union leaders agreed at the eleventh hour on Friday to reinstate a key climate-change goal in a statement on long-term economic planning, overruling Italian and Cypriot objections, diplomats said.

The EU has already pledged to cut greenhouse-gas emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and to deepen the cut to 30 per cent if other rich nations make 'comparable' efforts.

But a draft summit declaration prepared overnight to Friday after talks between EU leaders set as the bloc's goal for 2020 'reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 per cent compared to 1990 levels,' with no reference to the 30-per-cent goal.

That move came despite a push from the European Commission, the EU's executive, to have the 30-per-cent goal enshrined in the text.

Diplomats said that Italy and Cyprus vetoed the reference to the 30-per-cent goal. Italy regularly argues that the goal would put an unfair burden on European industry.

But EU leaders on Friday morning agreed to reinstate the key phrase, after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi left the summit early to campaign in local elections, diplomats said.