Leaders of the European Union have reached a historic agreement to reduce greenhouse gases and transition to renewable sources of energy in the ongoing fight against climate change.
The ambitious plan will see EU nations commit to a binding agreement to achieve a 20 per cent share of renewable power from sources such as wind energy and solar power.
On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was hammering out the final details of a draft statement that will go before a summit of EU leaders for approval.
The Associated Press reports that the agreement promises energy solidarity between the EU nations if an energy supply crisis were to occur -- a stipulation demanded by Poland.
It also met a requirement set out by the Czech and Slovak members, with a phrase that states nuclear energy meets the growing global concerns about safety of supply.
The statement also establishes a staggered starting line for member nations, stating that "differentiated national overall targets should be derived ... with due regard to a fair and adequate allocation taking account of different national starting points."
Merkel told reporters the document makes the EU a "world pioneer" in the fight against greenhouse gases -- the pollution caused by the burning of non-renewable fuel sources and seen as the chief culprit of global warming.
The agreement makes three main commitments to be obtained over 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, an increase from the current figure of around 6 per cent.
- One-tenth of all cars and trucks in the 27 EU nations should be running on biofuels made from plants.
The measures could also include a ban on filament light bulbs by 2010, forcing people to switch to more expensive but energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs.
"This text really gives European Union (energy) policies a new quality and will establish us as a world pioneer," Merkel told reporters as she arrived at the talks Friday.
One day earlier, the 27 EU members agreed to cut GHG emissions by 20 per cent over 1990 levels by 2020. They also said they would raise that goal to 30 per cent if major polluters like the U.S. and China signed onto the pact.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair weighed in by saying, "These are a set of groundbreaking, bold, ambitious targets for the European Union."
"It gives Europe a clear leadership position on this crucial issue facing the world," Blair said.
Some of the poorer EU nations, including Slovakia and Poland, raised concern about the details of the plan, claiming they could not afford to invest in expensive alternative energy sources such as wind.
They pushed for the staggered starting line, saying countries with developed alternative energy programs should go beyond the 20 per cent target, while struggling nations would receive more time to meet the objective.
"Not all countries will be able to achieve this threshold," said Polish President Lech Kaczynski, adding that Poland would accept mandatory targets only if they were tailored to individual nations.
The French, Czechs, Bulgarians and Slovaks all argue that nuclear energy should be included in the EU's plans to switch to a low-carbon economy -- a feature opposed by Denmark, Austria and Ireland.
Merkel will host a meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in June, and is pushing the EU to challenge Canada, the U.S., Russia and Japan, among others, to join the emissions-cutting efforts.
She argues that true progress will only be made if nations outside the EU join the fight.
"Europe only produces 15 per cent of global CO2," Merkel said. "The real climate problem will not be solved by Europe alone."
With files from The Associated Press
