E.U. leaders gather for summit, squabble over renewable-energy target
As European Union leaders gather for a two-day summit that starts tomorrow, one question is dominating the agenda: what exactly did the Olsen twins buy on their recent Paris shopping spree? Once that’s answered, the heads of state will move on to more mundane topics like emissions cuts and renewable energy. While the summit is expected to result in an agreement to cut carbon emissions 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 — and as much as 30 percent if other nations around the world agree to cuts — there’s strife a-go-go over a proposal that 20 percent of energy production by 2020 come from renewable sources. Rumor has it that nearly half of the 27 member states, including France and Poland, oppose that target, in part because it doesn’t consider the role of nuclear power. But one thing is sure, says German chancellor and summit chair Angela Merkel: “The necessity to combat climate change and to reduce our energy dependency, coupled with the fact Kyoto is running out, [has] concentrated minds.”
