EU to announce 2030 climate change targets, with compromise possible

The EU will announce climate change targets for 2030 this week, but differences over priorities and an unwillingness to take the lead while global rivals hang back may result in a compromise.

The 2020 programme is judged a success, but some argue that means the European Union can now ease up to focus on a struggling economy, while others want a more ambitious package to keep up the momentum.

European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso will unveil the new package on Wednesday, ahead of a March EU leaders' summit, and is expected to propose rules on the controversial "fracking" to extract shale gas.

Barroso will address ways to boost the EU's carbon dioxide emissions market, meant to combat global warming but which has so far disappointed.

The current 20-20-20 EU programme is based on a binding 20 per cent cut in CO ₂ emissions by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.

Member states are also supposed to source 20 per cent of their energy from renewables and achieve a 20 per cent energy efficiency gain by the same date.