EU heads of state and government on 23 March agreed that a 15-30% cut in greenhouse gas emissions "should be considered" for 2020 "and beyond, in the spirit of the conclusions of the Environment Council" earlier this month.
However, at the insistence of Germany and Austria, the summit conclusions did not mention any precise reduction targets after 2020, refusing to take on the 60-80% cuts proposed by environment ministers at their last meeting for the horizon 2050.
EU leaders also insisted that the 15-30% reduction range "be viewed in the light of future work on how the objective can be achieved, including the cost-benefit aspect".
The outcome of such analyses is likely to be closely linked to the outcome of global climate negotiations to be launched in Montreal later this year. In this respect, the leaders emphasised their "determination to reinvigorate the international negotiations" and to try to ensure "the widest possible cooperation by all countries" in an effective international response.
They added that global responses should try to involve "major energy-consuming countries, including those among the emerging and developing countries", namely China and India.
