Greenpeace: EU Lacks Leadership on Copenhagen Accord

For the Association, the European Union continues to make mistakes in its climate tactics by putting on the table a less ambitious binding CO2 reduction target.

"The European Union is mistakenly touting its 20% target as an ambitious one, when in reality it's only half of what's needed." This is how Greenpeace, through Alessandro Gianni, the association's campaign director, commented on the EU's letter to the United Nations, confirming its less demanding emissions reduction commitment and agreeing to a 30% cut only if other countries match the effort.
For the environmental organization, this is yet another missed opportunity to regain the climate leadership the Union boasted at the start of the negotiations. "The EU," Gianni comments, "is starting to become a broken record. The only way it can have any impact on the international scene is to unconditionally increase its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to 30%. This would push industrialized countries toward the 40% global reduction that scientific research indicates is necessary to save the planet's climate."
Meanwhile, time is running out; as stipulated in the so-called "Copenhagen Accord," a non-binding pact, governments will have to submit their emissions reduction commitments for 2020 by January 31.