EU climate plan 'would see Italian firms relocate'

(ROME) - The high costs of the EU plan to fight global warming may force Italian businesses to relocate, Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo warned in an interview published Tuesday.

"The main risk is relocation, and even countries like Germany have mentioned this problem," she told the financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore. "All manufacturing sectors are threatened," she added.

Italy estimates its industry would have to spend between 18 billion and 25 billion euros (24 billion to 33 billion dollars) a year to reach the targets, though the European Commission contests the figures.

Italy and Poland threatened at a summit last week to veto the bloc's blueprint for fighting global warming, due to be sealed in December.

The three Baltic states, along with Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia also raised objections, while Germany is taking a tough stance in defence of its automobile industry, according to officials.

The European Union should show "more flexibility for obtaining significant results for the environment but at less cost," Prestigiacomo said.

"To reach an equitable solution there needs to be a comprehensive accord that also includes non-European competitors," she said.

Last year, the EU vowed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020, compared with 1990 levels, in an effort to halt global warming. It also pledged to have renewable energies make up 20 percent of all energy sources.

In order to achieve these overall targets, heavy industry -- which produces 40 percent of the EU's greenhouse gases -- would have to cut its CO2 emissions by 21 percent from 2005 levels.

The European Commission has agreed to create a working group of experts to review Italy's cost estimates for implementing the plans.