German Economy Minister Michael Glos wants the EU to take into account Germany's phasing out of nuclear power when working out the country's emissions obligations, a press report said Wednesday.
The Handelsblatt business daily said Glos had urged Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel to demand that Brussels make concessions on limits on Germany's carbon dioxide emissions, because these will rise as nuclear plants shut.
"The increased emission levels brought on by the nuclear phase-out must be taken into account in the EU's overall emissions budget," the paper quoted his as writing to Gabriel.
Handelsblatt said Germany could use the precedent set by Sweden as an argument in its negotiations with Brussels.
It pointed out that the EU allowed Sweden to increase its greenhouse gas emissions by four percent between 1990 to 2012 to offset its phase-out of nuclear energy.
Germany is planning to close down the last of its 17 nuclear power plants by 2020.
But the issue is a bone of contention within Germany's ruling left-right coalition. Conservatives like Glos and Chancellor Angela Merkel favour continued use of nuclear energy.
Gabriel, a Social Democrat, supports the nuclear phase-out agreed by a previous administration of Social Democrats and Greens.
Handelsblatt said Gabriel responded to Glos's request by arguing that the problem should be dealt with by making households and the transport sector use less energy.
EU nations last year agreed to a target of cutting the bloc's overall greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels.
Under the plans, the use of renewable energies like biomass, wind and solar power will rise to 20 percent of all energy forms. Biofuels will also have to make up 10 percent of fuels used for transport.
They have also offered to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent if other developed countries agreed to deep cuts.
