EU SUMMIT Presidency's Merkel urges 'realistic' stance on global warming UPDATE

EU SUMMIT Presidency's Merkel urges 'realistic' stance on global warming UPDATE

	Published : Thu, 08 Mar 2007 17:46 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Updates with quotes)

BRUSSELS (AFX) - German chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, urged fellow leaders to take a are alistic' stance on global warming at their two-day summit starting later today.

Merkel is seeking to rally leaders behind her ambitious proposals for deep cuts in carbon emissions.

But member states are at odds over whether to set binding targets for the use of renewable energy, like wind or solar power, and Merkel faces a showdown with French president Jacques Chirac on nuclear energy.

'We have got to think outside the box, but we have got to be realistic as well,' Merkel told reporters.

'We have got to go for a sensible solution with the right policy mix that will be good for our grandchildren,' she said.

'We can be innovative, but only when we are clear as to which way we are going.'

'The whole thing about renewables is separate from the broader discussion,' she said.

However, the prospect of a binding limit on the use of renewable energy sources has stoked fears among business leaders that the costs could force companies to do business elsewhere.

'In terms of binding obligations for renewables nobody has any idea, not the foggiest idea, what the costs will be, neither social costs nor financial costs,' said the head of EU employers association BusinessEurope, Ernest-Antoine Seilliere.

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