EUROPEAN UNION SETS GOALS TO REDUCE EMISSIONS, CHALLENGES U.S. TO DO MORE

East County News Service

March 8, 2015 (Brussels)--The European Union has sent the United Nations a pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030, compared to emission levels in 1990.

In a press briefing Friday in Brussels, Belgium, the European Union’s Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete called on other countries including the U.S. to follow suit.

"We expect China, the United States and the other G20 countries in particular to follow the European Union and submit their contributions by the end of March," he said after a meeting of EU environment ministers in Brussels.

The news came months ahead of an international climate conference slated to start November 30^th in Paris.

The 40% reduction goal for European Union nations must be achieved domestically rather than through offsets that allow member states to buy into carbon-cutting schemes outside Europe, Reuters reports.

The global spotlight is now on the United States, China and other industrialized G20 nations to see what steps they will take toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions in a worldwide effort to stop climate change.