EU challenges industrial world to match its green plan

Boasting an ambitious carbon dioxide reduction plan, European leaders are now challenging industrialized nations such as Canada to match the EU target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent within 13 years.

EU leaders on Friday endorsed binding targets to slash emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, as well as ensure that one-fifth of the bloc's energy comes from green power — renewable resources such as wind turbines and solar panels.

It is one of the boldest plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions ever drafted, putting Europe at the forefront on the movement to combat global warming.

The bloc now wants the rest of the industrialized countries, including Canada and the U.S., to show the same level of commitment.

Finnish President Marti Vanhanen said the European bloc's model should extend to countries outside the EU.

"Some countries are saying it's quite difficult to achieve such high targets, but if they want to carry the responsibility of climate change, then of course we have to set quite clear targets," he said. "It's our responsibility on climate change."

The EU has suggested that if other countries begin to follow suit and make the same cuts, it would force European leaders to become even more aggressive in their own reduction efforts.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led the negotiations, said Friday the EU agreement establishes the bloc "as a world pioneer."

Still, not all parties involved welcomed the suggestion that nuclear power could play a key role in tackling greenhouse gas emissions.

Other details of the package include an aim to have 10 per cent of cars and trucks running on biofuels made from plants by the year 2020.

Whether the deal will encourage other world polluters to make their own deep emission cuts will likely be a topic of discussion at the next summit with the Group of Eight industrialized nations in June.

It is at that meeting when Merkel plans to show the G8 members what the EU wants to do.

"It is important that we can tell the G8 members that Europe has made a real commitment," Merkel said. "That gives us a measure of credibility."