EU: credible deal to curb global warming is dependent on US, China pledges to cut emissions

EU: climate deal hinges on US, China

STRASBOURG, France — Global warming cannot be reversed unless the United States and China commit to meaningful cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions, the EU said Tuesday.

With two weeks to go before a global climate conference, the EU urged Washington and Beijing to come to the Copenhagen event with meaningful bids to slash carbon dioxide emissions.

“Without a bid from the USA and China, only half of the emissions are covered” by a global deal, Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren, whose country holds the EU presidency, told the European Parliament.

“An agreement in Copenhagen must cover all the emissions of the world,” he added. “An agreement is totally dependent on sufficient bids from the USA and China.”

At least 65 world leaders will attend the Copenhagen climate summit in December as representatives of 191 nations seek agreement on a new global treaty on limiting emissions of greenhouse gases.

U.S. officials said this week the Obama administration will soon announce its targets. Washington has resisted doing so without the backing of Congress, which is not expected to pass climate legislation until next year at the earliest.

Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would slash heat-trapping pollution by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. A U.S. Senate bill seeks a 20 percent reduction over the next decade.

U.N. scientists have recommended that developed countries make cuts of up to 40 percent in C02 emissions by 2020 to avoid a catastrophic rise in sea levels, harsher storms and droughts, and climate disruptions.

The EU aims for deeper cuts than most other industrialized nations — from 20 percent below 1990 levels to 30 percent, if others follow suit. By 2050, it wants to eliminate most emissions.

While the EU sees itself as a trailblazer, it has delayed promising cash to poorer nations to help them tackle global warming.

EU leaders have pledged to pay their “fair share” into an annual global fund but have given no amount. They estimate $148 billion a year is needed and that half should come from governments.

The EU’s executive suggested that the bloc’s 27 governments should give up to $22 billion a year from 2013 to 2020.