EU warned of looming climate catastrophe
Britain and the Netherlands will today attempt to force climate change to the top of the EU's agenda, warning that the world is only 10-15 years away from "a catastrophic tipping point".
Tony Blair, British prime minister, and Jan Peter Balkenende, his Dutch counterpart, will urge EU leaders to put Europe at the forefront of efforts to save energy and cut carbon emissions.
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In a joint letter ahead of an EU summit in Finland today, the two say Europe should work with countries such as China and India to develop low carbon technologies and set world standards.
"We have a window of only 10-15 years to take the steps we need to avoid crossing a catastrophic tipping point," the two prime ministers claim. They back EU legislation for new energy efficiency standards, tightened emissions trading and moves to bring carbon emissions from fossil fuel plants to zero.
The move may help to divert attention from the awkward main business of the summit, a debate with Vladimir Putin on the EU's energy relationship with Moscow.
EU leaders hope to present a united front in calling for an equal energy partnership with Russia, just as Moscow tightens its grip on the oil and gas sector to the detriment of western companies.
The Kremlin has made it clear it has no intention to sign up to the transit protocol of the energy charter treaty, which would give third parties access to the pipelines of Gazprom, the Russian energy group.
There are fears in Lahti, the lakeside town hosting the summit, that European leaders will send out mixed signals to Mr Putin with pro-Russian countries such as France and Germany striking a softer tone than harsh critics such as Poland.
Matti Vanhanen, Finland's premier will tackle Mr Putin on Russia's tough treatment of Georgia after a spying dispute and over the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaja.
Europe yesterday stepped up efforts to cut its energy bill with a plan designed to reduce energy use by 20 per cent within 14 years.
The EU Commission proposal targets wasteful products such as standby modes on electrical appliances, boilers and computers, as well as cars and houses. Tax breaks could be offered to companies and individuals.
Andris Piebalgs, EU energy commissioner, said the plan could cut millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, and reduce the "direct cost" of the union's power consumption by over �100bn ($126bn, ￡67bn) a year by 2020.
布莱尔：环境灾难离我们只有10至15年
英国和荷兰将于今日做出努力，将气候变化列为欧盟(EU)议程中最优先考虑的问题，两国警告称，全球距离“灾难临界点”仅有10至15年之遥。
英国首相托尼?布莱尔(Tony Blair)和荷兰首相杨?彼得?巴尔克嫩德(Jan Peter Balkenende)将敦促欧盟领导人，将欧洲置于节能和减少碳排放努力的最前沿。
在今日芬兰召开的欧盟峰会开始前，两位首相在一封联名信中辩称，欧洲应与中国和印度等国家合作，开发低碳技术，并设定全球标准。
两位首相称：“我们仅有10至15年时间来采取必要的措施，避免越过那个灾难临界点。”他们支持欧盟立法规定新的节能标准，收紧排放权交易标准，并采取措施将欧洲化石燃料电厂的碳排放量降至零。
两位首相此举将有助于人们将注意力从此次欧盟峰会令人尴尬的主要话题中转移开来，会议的主要内容是与弗拉基米尔?普京(Vladimir Putin)就欧盟与俄罗斯能源关系进行辩论。
欧盟昨日进一步做出了降低能耗的努力，该组织已制定计划，将在14年内将能耗减少20%。
欧盟委员会的提议将目标对准了家用电器、锅炉和电脑待机模式等浪费能源的产品设计，以及汽车和住宅。降低能耗的企业和个人可能会获得减税待遇。
欧盟能源专员安德里斯?皮厄巴尔格斯(Andris Piebalgs)表示，该计划每年可能会削减数百万吨二氧化碳排放量，到2020年前，欧盟电力消耗的“直接成本”将每年减少逾1000亿欧元(合1260亿美元)。
