EU urged to agree on climate before U.N. talks open

WARSAW (Reuters) – The European Union must reach a consensus on climate policy if it wants to play a leading role in U.N.-led talks on a new pact to cut greenhouse gases, a Polish official said on Tuesday.

A package of climate measures proposed by the European Commission — the EU executive — aims, among other things, to cut carbon dioxide emissions by a fifth by 2020 compared with 1990 levels. However, it faces opposition from some member states and from the car industry.

France, holder of the rotating EU presidency, hopes to forge a compromise among the 27 member states by December when negotiators meet in Poznan, Poland, to discuss a new global deal on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Reuters