GLOBAL WARMING FIGHT THREATENS EU SUMMIT

10.03.2007 [14:37]
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Divisions over how to fight global warming threatened to overshadow a summit aimed at making the European Union the world leader in the battle against climate change.

EU leaders are expected to approve plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 as part of an effort to reduce the bloc`s dependency on oil and gas exports. But governments of the EU`s 27 member countries are at odds over other issues, ranging from whether renewable energy targets should be binding to whether nuclear energy should be supported as an alternative.

Speaking ahead of the summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said the need to use more renewable sources was a matter of urgency. ”It`s not five minutes to midnight,” she said. “It`s five minutes after midnight.” She said she planned to press the issue when Germany plays host to a meeting in June of the Group of 8 nations, including the United States, Japan and Russia.

At least a dozen countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic and France, have expressed opposition to such targets, saying they are unrealistic and could prove too costly. Countries like Spain and Denmark have built wind farms to generate electricity, but EU countries from the former Soviet bloc rely on inexpensive coal and are resisting new and costly investments.

GLOBAL WARMING FIGHT THREATENS EU SUMMIT

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