UK, France and Germany team up to call for greater EU carbon cuts

In a rare display of European unity, the UK, France and Germany today teamed up to call on other EU member states to support moves to strengthen the bloc's carbon-emission target, arguing that a failure to do so would jeopardize the continent's long-term economic competitiveness.

Writing in the Financial Times, British energy minister Chris Huhne, German environment minister Norbert Roettgen and French ecology minister Jean-Louis Borloo said the EU should set a new target requiring it to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 30 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020, a significant increase on the current target of 20 per cent.

The EU has said it will upgrade its target to 30 per cent if other large economies adopt similar targets, but the ministers argued the bloc should move unilaterally in an attempt to drive investment in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies.

"If we stick to a 20 per cent cut, Europe is likely to lose the race to compete in the low-carbon world to countries such as China, Japan or the US – all of whom are looking to create a more attractive investment environment by introducing low carbon-policy frameworks and channelling their stimulus packages into low-carbon investment," the ministers warned.

The joint article also argued that the global recession meant the cost of meeting the new tougher target was far lower than first thought.

"Because of reduced emissions in the recession, the annual costs in 2020 of meeting the existing 20 per cent target are down a third from €70 billion to €48 billion," the ministers said. "A move up to 30 per cent is now estimated to cost only an extra €11bn more than the original cost of achieving a 20 per cent reduction, a supplement worth less than 0.1 per cent of the EU economy."

They concluded that the new target would help to create jobs and cement Europe's position as one of the world's leading providers of low-carbon technologies.

"Moving to a 30 per cent target would result in at least a doubling of low-carbon markets compared to sticking to the current 20 per cent. Much of the new growth would be in jobs-rich sectors like energy saving," they said. " Ducking the argument on 30 per cent will put us in the global slow lane."

The move, which would also serve to drive up the price of carbon in the European emissions trading scheme, was broadly welcomed by green business groups who urged the wider EU to back the proposals.

However, the proposals are likely to face stiff opposition from some eastern European states who have consistently argued that a 30 per cent target will prove unattainable.

Friends of the Earth's head of climate change Mike Childs welcomed the proposals as a "positive first step", but warned that ultimately even more ambitious targets would be required.

"To have a reasonable chance of effectively tackling climate change these European Ministers need to be bolder and aim for cuts of at least 40 per cent by 2020 without offsetting," he said. "This would be world-leading, realistic and affordable, and would send a powerful signal that those countries most responsible for global warming are willing and able to take strong action."