German Chancellor urges EU to cut carbon dioxide emissions

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-14-2007 09:44

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging EU governments to follow Berlin's example and accept the European Commission's demands to cut carbon dioxide emissions. She was addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The EU executive office said last month that Europe must embrace a low-carbon economy and cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. This is to limit global warming and prevent serious damage caused by climate change.

Germany holds the current EU Presidency. Merkel said she shared the European Commission's goals.

Germany is the largest carbon polluter in the EU. At first, it said it might take legal action over the Commission's demand for it to drastically reduce its emissions limit. But then it accepted the demand.

But Merkel emphasized that this was on the condition that the European Union would "find international partners".

Merkel said, "Europe has been first to make the cuts, and I think we should commit to this, but Europe must also make clear that there is no problem which illustrates more that this world is inter-connected, and the efforts of just one continent are not enough to end the danger to humanity."

The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, then took the stage with a speech largely centred around new efforts to strengthen the European Union.

In an explicit declaration, Barroso said that the original EU constitution rejected by two EU countries was "impossible" to relaunch. And in his final comments, Barroso said he was "looking forward" to delivering "real reform in Europe and real change for Europe's citizens".

Editor:Du Xiaodan