France Sarkozy: Climate Summit Should Deliver Binding Rules
BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The international summit on climate change in
Copenhagen in December must deliver a political agreement that contains precise
CO2 emission reduction targets and binding rules, French President Nicolas
Sarkozy said Thursday.
"We decided to push extremely hard for Copenhagen to be a success," Sarkozy
said in a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Danish
Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, after the three leaders met to discuss the
Copenhagen conference, ahead of a summit of all European Union leaders in
Brussels later Thursday.
Copenhagen should deliver a binding political agreement that would pave the
way for an international treaty to be agreed upon as soon as possible, Rasmussen
said.
The leaders' remarks come just as hopes for a sensible accord in December fade
away. Time is short and Asian leaders meeting in Singapore earlier this month
dropped any ambition for a binding agreement, saying instead they would pursue
what they called a political framework for future negotiations.
The E.U. wants to lead the negotiations to limit CO2 emissions and constrain
global warming at two degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial temperatures.
-By Alessandro Torello, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 14 88;
alessandro.torello@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-19-091302ET
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