By Martin Banks - 14th July 2011
This,though, should be subject to a global agreement
Nathalie Creste Manservisi
Senior Polish MEP Boguslaw Sonik told a hearing in parliament that increasing a target to cut CO2 emissions from 20 to 30 per cent would be "detrimental" to industry.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Sonik, deputy chair of parliament's environment committee, said he strongly opposed a 30 per cent target.
"This would be detrimental to industry in Poland and the rest of Europe. This is the last thing the business community needs at the current time," he said.
He was speaking at an event on the role the plastic industry can play in meeting the EU's climate goals.
The event, organised by The Parliament Magazine, attracted a range of experts from politics and industry.
Nathalie Creste Manservisi, head of unit at the commission's climate action directorate, told the meeting that the executive favoured a 30 per cent target on condition that the rest of the world agreed to such a limit.
She disagreed with Sonik, saying that it was possible to have higher targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions without having an adverse impact on the economy.
She said, "This, though, should be subject to a global agreement"
She also admitted that the commission could do more to "communicate" its efforts to cut CO2 emissions, saying, "It is true there has been a lack of communication and that is something we need to address."
The two-hour hearing comes after Janusz Lewandowski, the EU budget commissioner, was recently accused by green campaigners and MEPs of climate change "denial" because he questioned the science of global warming.
Poland is reliant on coal-fired power stations for up to 90 per cent of its electricity and Warsaw last week blocked an EU attempt to increase a target to cut CO2 emissions from 20 to 30 per cent.
The row over Polish opposition to stricter climate change targets, described as a "dark day for Europe" by Chris Huhne, the UK environment secretary, has overshadowed Poland's six-month turn at the EU's rotating presidency which began on 1 July.
