Barroso slaps at U.S. climate initiative

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso slammed climate change initiative by U.S. President George W Bush, urging for more aggressive goals.

In remarks carried in Friday's Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) , Barroso said he did not expect agreement on concrete climate protection steps at the June 6-8 Group of Eight (G8) summit in Heiligendamm, Germany.

He said the United States had special responsibility as a large emitter of pollutants, adding "it is clear that we need a more ambitious position from the U.S."

"The U.S. is relying strongly on market mechanism in the battle against climate change, and rightly so," Barroso said, "But market mechanisms only work when one has binding targets."

Under Germany's presidency, the European Union has set ambitious targets for curbing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the U.S. plan, saying it was an "important step on the road."

Bush said in Washington Thursday that his country was ready to accept a global goal for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

"My proposal is this: By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases," Bush said.

Germany took the U.S. move as a positive change from previous its position, but government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm acknowledged there would be "difficult and very intensive discussions" at Heiligendamm.

He did not rule out the possibility of failure to agree a declaration on global warming at the summit.

Source: Xinhua