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WWF bemoans attempts to water down EU's green targets
Brussels (AFP) Oct 3, 2008 Europe's plan of action to tackle climate change is being undermined by pressure from industry and may no longer achieve its original green goals, the environmental group WWF said Friday. The compromise with industry, particularly German interests, is "undermining everything (and) really goes in the wrong direction," Daria Villagrasa, from the group's energy programme, told a press conference in Brussels. The WWF in particular criticised the "manoeuvres" of German members of the European Parliament to "delay everything". Germany, Europe's biggest car producer and producer of Europe's biggest cars, feels the plan to oblige all car makers to reach the same average emissions target is punitive to the likes of BMW and Mercedes. In January, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, proposed a series of measures with the overall aim of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. Among the initiatives were bringing the level of renewable energy up to 20 percent of total consumption, setting strict rules on car emissions and boosting the use of biofuels. France, which holds the EU's rotating presidency until the end of the year, has been "very disappointing," Villagrasa complained, accusing President Nicolas Sarkozy of being "good on timing, not on quality". "Sarkozy wants a deal, but in exchange, he does nothing to improve the quality of the package," she said. Next Tuesday, the European Parliament's environmental affairs committee will give its verdict on main elements of the climate package. Their vote will form a basis for closed-door talks between the 27 EU member states in a bid to reach agreement by December, WWF said. Villagrasa also rejected the argument that the current economic and financial crisis meant governments had to roll back their environmental targets. Industry uses this argument as an excuse to do nothing, she argued. "But if the climate talks fail, we will all have to face a global crisis," she warned. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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