EU to propose global emission caps for aviation and shipping

The EU is expected to propose binding carbon emission targets for the global aviation and shipping industries at this week's UN climate change negotiations in Bangkok, as part of efforts to streamline the sprawling 200-page draft treaty.

According to Reuter's reports, EU negotiators are preparing to propose solid sectoral targets for 2020 of between 10 and 20 per cent below 2005 levels.

They will also propose that the UN-backed International Civil Aviation Organization and International Maritime Organization be charged with enforcing the targets, either through the introduction of a carbon tax or roll out of industry-wide cap-and-trade schemes that could then raise revenue to help fund emission reduction initiatives in developing countries.

"We are concerned about the slow international negotiations and are keen to shift gear," one EU diplomat told Reuters. "This is a concrete measure from the EU side in order to contribute to this step-up."

The proposals reportedly have significant support from Britain, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, and most eastern European states, all of which have called for a 20 per cent cap. However, a number of maritime nations and countries boasting major airlines are said to be lobbying for a more modest 10 per cent target.

The news comes as both Indonesia and India also sought to underline their commitment to delivering an international climate change agreement at the forthcoming Copenhagen talks.

It emerged yesterday that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had told other world leaders meeting at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh last week that the country was working on a policy to cut emissions 26 per cent by 2020 against "business as usual" levels.

The move follows China's pledge last week to announce a target to curb the country's carbon intensity, and makes Indonesia the largest emerging economy to date to put a figure on its emission reduction plans.

Yudhoyono said that plans to address deforestation in the country meant that the target was achievable, adding that with greater support from rich nations, Indonesia could cut emissions by as much as 41 per cent by the same date.

Meanwhile, India's prime minister Manmohan Singh today unveiled further details of the country's nuclear programme, announcing plans to 470,000MW of low carbon energy from nuclear power stations by 2050.

Speaking at an international atomic energy conference in New Delhi, Singh said the nuclear power would be central to the country's climate change strategy. "This will sharply reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and will be a major contribution to global efforts to combat climate change," he added.