EUROPEAN COMMISSION president José Manuel Barroso has warned EU leaders not to use the financial crisis as an excuse to backtrack on climate change commitments.
He also plans to tell an EU summit in Brussels today that the crisis provoked by the banking crisis has made the case even stronger for the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty.
"Saving the planet is not an after-dinner drink, a digestif that you take or leave. Climate change does not disappear because of the financial crisis," he said.
"Tackling climate change is central to Europe's future prosperity and to preserve the quality of life on our planet. We must, therefore, keep to our goals agreed unanimously last year."
Speaking ahead of today's European Council in Brussels, Mr Barroso said yesterday it was only natural that governments become defensive as they respond to pressures coming from economic sectors in the current crisis. But he said leaders needed to look to the bigger picture.
"I hope the ethics of responsibility will prevail and not short-termism," said Mr Barroso referring to the EU's target of cutting CO2 emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 from 1990 levels, and boosting energy efficiency and renewable use by 20 per cent.
Commission officials have warned that several countries are pushing to have the EU climate change package amended in a way that could undermine the EU's ability to meet its own targets. For example, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini asked the commission yesterday to recost the entire package.
"The global emission targets should not be evaluated only on political criteria, but also on the basis of an assessment of its impact in terms of costs and benefits," said Mr Frattini, who noted the plan could cost Italy 1.14 per cent of national income.
Germany has concerns that some energy-intensive industries such as the steel sector could be forced to shift production outside the EU to escape the higher costs imposed by the package.
Poland, which relies on coal for most of its energy, is opposing measures that would force it to buy permits to allow generating plants to pollute from 2013 onwards. It fears this would lead to big electricity price rises.
Several states from central and eastern Europe, including Poland, are also pressing EU leaders to change the reference year on which most of the measures in the climate package are based from 2005 to 1990. They argue that using the reference year of 2005 does not take into account major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions achieved from 1990 onwards under the Kyoto protocol.
"We have reduced our emissions by 33 per cent since 1990 and met our Kyoto commitments while other old EU member states have seen their emissions rise in the same period. We think our effort should be recognised," said one diplomat from Slovakia.
The debate on climate change promises to be the main sticking point in a summit that will also deal with issues such as the Lisbon Treaty and the financial crisis.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen will update EU leaders on the reasons why Ireland rejected the treaty in June. He will also outline the steps the Government will take before coming back to the December summit with a road map on how to solve its "Lisbon dilemma".
Diplomats do not expect a debate on Lisbon, although Mr Barroso said yesterday that the financial crisis "makes the case of the Lisbon Treaty every day".
"The Lisbon Treaty will increase the EU's capacity to respond to crises as well as its capacity to prevent crises through coherent and consistent policies."