Poland attempts to delay Europe's CO2 reduction target
The Polish EU affairs minister, Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, said on Monday that Europe cannot jump up to a 30 percent C02 reduction target at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
Such a move can only done following an impact assessment, something that was agreed by EU states in 2008.
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"A target of reducing emissions 20 percent higher than the EU can not be decided only at the political level at Copenhagen, but must be based partly on the basis of the impact assessment that European Commission must present to the European Council in March," he said on the sidelines of a meeting of European affairs ministers in Brussels.
"This impact assessment should be made before accept a binding agreement, "said Mr Dowgielewicz, referring to the the mandate the commission was given by EU premiers and presidents at the December 2008 European Council where the 30 percent commitment was made.
He expressed his hope that a global agreement could be concluded in Mexico in December next year at the follow up to the UN climate conference that opened today.
"What we want is a 'deal' with a very ambitious commitments by all and especially in countries
development. We want a clear timetable for concluding agreement by 2010 during the 'Conference of the Parties' of Mexico City [Cop 16]."
"Clearly, in Copenhagen begins a sequence of events that will end, we hope, in Mexico City and there we will have the tools to assess whether we can make the transition from 20 to 30 percent EU objective."
However, a few hours later, the United Kingdom and Denmark, representing a group of seven EU member states who view themselves as leaders on climate change issues dismissed Warsaw's suggestion, saying that the EU is "ready" to jump to a 30 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions.
"We confirm what we have promised and will be ready to go with the 30 percent reduction," Danish foreign minister Per Stig Moeller said at a press conference also on behalf of Sweden, France, Finland Germany and Spain - but not the whole of the EU - in Brussels parallel to the ministers' meeting.
The two foreign ministers, acknowledged that their declaration did not mean they or the EU were ready to make a unilateral leap without comparable ambitious commitments from other blocs in the world, meaning the announcement was more a statement of the hopes of the EU group of seven than any change on existing EU promises.
Both ministers however insisted that the EU shift to 30 percent had already been committed to and that an impact assessment would have to be carried out afterward.
"It is existing EU policy to shift from a 20 percent to 30 percent cut in the context of an ambitious deal," said Mr Moeller
"We have given a promise. There will not be time for an impact assessment before [Copenhagen]. We knew there wouldn't be time when we made that promise," he added.
Mr Miliband also said "Because of the economic recession, a 30 percent cut is much more like a 20 percent cut. The costs and burdens are much more akin to what a 20 percent cut would have been a short while ago."
It is understood that no firm commitment on behalf of the EU will be made this week at the European Summit of premiers and presidents unless some major new breakthrough appears in Copenhagen. The jump to 30 percent is only expected some time in the second week when world leaders arrive in the Danish capital.