EU says Lima outcome a step forward on way to Paris climate deal
Climate change
(BRUSSELS) - The European Union on Sunday welcomed the outcome of UN climate talks in Lima as a "step forward" toward a global deal in Paris next year even though it had wanted a more ambitious result.
UN members meeting in the Peruvian capital adopted a format for national pledges to cut Earth-warming greenhouse gases and approved a blueprint to guide negotiations for a deal in Paris in December 2015.
The EU "welcomes the outcome... as a step forward on the road to a global climate deal in Paris next year," according to a statement from the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.
"As countries come forward with proposed emissions reduction targets in the coming months, the Lima Call requires all countries to describe their proposed target in a clear, transparent and understandable way," it said.
"This will enable us to quantify our proposed contributions," it added.
Miguel Arias Canete, EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, said his delegation came to Lima to lay "the ground for negotiations" in the French capital.
"And although the EU wanted a more ambitious outcome from Lima, we believe that we are on track to agree a global deal in Paris next year," Canete was quoted by the commission as saying.
In October the EU set its own goals that include cutting carbon emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels.
EU leaders also agreed in Brussels to a 27 percent target for energy from renewable sources, and a 27 percent gain in energy efficiency by 2030.
The European Parliament's delegation vice-chair, Jo Leinen, said "despite some progress in Lima, there are still many stumbling blocks on the way" to Paris.
"The European Union will have to be a bridge builder between developing countries on one side, and developed countries on the other," Leinen said in a statement.
The Lima document does not oblige rich nations to outline aid for poorer countries in their pledges, as the developing world had insisted.