Council split over 30% emissions cut

摘要

The first debate by the EU's environment ministers on the options outlined by the European Commission for moving beyond a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 served mainly to bring to light a split among member states. The particularly minimalist conclusions, adopted on 11 June in Luxembourg, are hardly a commitment on the part of the Council, which reiterates its conclusions of 15 March noting that the EU offer remains conditional.rnThe member states recognise that the current state of the international negotiations makes it difficult to evaluate the risk of carbon leakage (relocation) more precisely. They postpone any decision to October at the earliest and await a detailed analysis of the policy options and costs and benefits (including at member state level) from the Commission.