EU SUMMIT Leaders close to agreement on renewable energy - Reinfeldt UPDATE |
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Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:13
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(Updated with comment from France's Chirac, sources, detail on timing)BRUSSELS (AFX) - EU leaders are close to agreeing to set binding targets for using renewable energy, Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said during an EU summit here.'We have now historically been able to focus on long-term objectives to combat climate change,' Reinfeldt told journalists.'We have also concluded that we need a target for a renewable energy supply that is binding,' he said.The question of whether to set a binding target for renewable energy was the main point of contention ahead of the summit, where leaders were also hammering out plans for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.'We are not far from an agreement if we add a few changes,' one EU official said.'There are only two or three member states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, that are opposed to a binding target,' the official said.French president Jacques Chirac backs the setting of a binding target of 20 pct for renewable energy sources, but is insisting on the need for nuclear energy in tackling global warming.While EU leaders agree on the need to cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least 20 pct by 2020, from 1990 levels, they are at odds on the role of nuclear energy, as advocated by France.Chirac said that the input of renewable energy sources 'must take account of the role of other low-carbon energy -- including nuclear -- in our energy choices'.But anti-nuclear countries such as Ireland and Austria strongly oppose his stance.'There is not a real debate on the (nuclear issue), even if it is a theme that has been evoked,' said an EU source.The German presidency, conducting the talks under the bloc's rotating system, ought to submit a new text for the approval of the leaders tomorrow morning.victoria.main@afxnews.comafp/vm/szCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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EU SUMMIT Leaders close to agreement on renewable energy - Sweden's Reinfeldt 