European Union leaders today sought to agree ambitious new rules on curbing greenhouse gases and using clean fuels in their bid to project the bloc as the world's leader in tackling climate change.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso after a meeting at the EC headquarters in Brussels yesterday
But it remained unclear whether German Chancellor Angela Merkel would overcome the resistance of a dozen countries led by France to her calls for binding targets on the use of renewable fuels such as solar power and wind energy.
"I reckon we can still do it, that ambitious goals will be set," Ms Merkel, whose country holds the presidency of the EU, told reporters as she arrived for the two-day talks in Brussels.
"Europe can only be the pace-setter on climate change and energy policy if we manage to set ourselves clear targets," added Ms Merkel, who as this year's chair of the Group of Eight rich nations wants the EU to set the agenda on the environment.
EU leaders are widely expected to rubber-stamp a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming by 20 per cent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, shifting to 30 per cent if other major polluters join in.
More contentious is her backing for a European Commission proposal to require the bloc to cover 20 per cent of its energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020.
Ms Merkel has hinted a compromise could emerge, allowing individual countries room to bargain over their share of renewables while setting a firm target for the EU as a whole. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker also suggested such a deal would be possible, but added there would still have to be much horse-trading on the contributions of individual countries, with a need to set up cross-border projects.
Renewables currently account for less than seven per cent of the EU energy mix, off a voluntary goal of 12 per cent by 2010. The prime ministers of Denmark, Sweden and Luxembourg all came out strongly in favour of the German push for binding targets on renewables ahead of the summit but the proposal has raised hackles in a number of European capitals.
France, the Czech Republic and Slovakia all hope to promote nuclear power at the talks, but atomic energy is not deemed a renewable source and they face resistance from nuclear opponents such as Austria and Ireland.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is leading the Irish delegation and is being accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen.
The summit outcome will form the basis of the EU's position in international talks to find a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, and some want the bloc to go further.
European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering said the assembly wanted leaders to fix a binding, unilateral objective of a 30 per cent cut in greenhouse gases by 2020 and a binding target for a 25 per cent share for renewable sources by the same timeframe.