Brussels - The EU likes to say that it is at the forefront of the fight against climate change. The bloc is on the verge of introducing new climate targets for 2030, but leaders will need to strike a deal first - and they are still divided on the way forward.
The European Union is readying itself for a summit clash this week on climate change, amid disagreements on how aggressively the bloc should reduce emissions, boost renewables and improve energy savings.
EU leaders will also tackle Europe's economic woes and international crises - notably the Ebola outbreak in West Africa - at their two-day meeting in Brussels, which gets underway on Thursday. But the climate talks are expected to pose the biggest challenge.
The EU has long sought to drive the battle against climate change, and is keen to make a mark before international negotiations in Paris next year on a new climate treaty. The 28-country bloc is also under pressure to find ways of decreasing its energy dependence on Russia.
Diplomats say there is a will to strike a deal Thursday on the EU's newest round of climate targets, for 2030. They are meant to help reduce greenhouse gases, believed to cause global warming. But member states are still miles apart on the details.
“These are the most difficult negotiations in years,” one eastern European diplomat noted, speaking on condition of anonymity.
And the stakes are high, not least because of the tense geopolitical context in Europe.
“If we fail, we are going to be laughed at in Moscow. They will say: ... 'The EU is divided, weak and therefore more vulnerable,'“ Britain's secretary of state for climate change, Edward Davey, said recently. “We have got to get it right.”
EU leaders will be considering three climate targets for 2030.
The European Commission, the bloc's executive, has proposed requiring a 40-percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions, based on 1990 levels. It also would like to derive at least 27 percent of EU energy from renewable sources and cut energy consumption by 30 percent.
Disagreements centre mostly on those numbers and on whether they should be binding.
Mandatory targets are expected for emissions and renewables, while the energy efficiency goal will likely only be indicative, making progress by member states optional.
There could also be some leniency with the renewables since no individual targets for member states is so far foreseen - preventing the EU from going after sluggish countries.
Eastern European countries are expected to put up the biggest fight at the summit. Many of them are still reliant on polluting energy sources such as coal. They have demanded support to help them meet the emissions target and have been wary of the efficiency goal.
“My government won't agree to any provisions that mean extra costs for our economy or higher energy prices for consumers,” Poland's new prime minister, Ewa Kopacz, has warned.
Britain is also pushing against EU targets on renewables and efficiency, with Davey arguing that member states should have the flexibility to choose “the decarbonization that is least costly.”
But at the other end of the spectrum are countries like Germany, which wants to see binding targets across the board.
“With an ambitious trio of goals, we can ... do more for energy security, investment, innovation and future jobs,” said that country's state secretary for energy, Rainer Baake.
Environmental groups, meanwhile, want the EU to be even more ambitious, with Greenpeace for instance advocating a 55-percent cut in emissions, a 45-percent share of renewables and 40 percent in energy savings.
Despite the deep divisions, there is still optimism in Brussels that EU leaders will produce a deal, with officials arguing that the energy industry needs to know the way forward.
A delay would also be politically sensitive because the bloc will have a new president from November 1 who stems from Poland, which has historically has been very reluctant in the fight against climate change.
“I think the member states are willing to proceed with European energy and climate policies, also beyond 2020,” EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said last week. “So I am actually optimistic.”
Ebola is expected to be the other top subject at the summit. Britain has called for the EU and its 28 member states to double their financial contribution to as much as 1-billion euros.
“More doctors, equipment and troops on the ground are desperately needed,” the anti-poverty organisation Oxfam said on Monday.
Economic issues are due to take the limelight on Friday, when the leaders of the eurozone's 18 countries will hold separate talks in Brussels. Concerns are rife about stagnation in the currency bloc and poor performances by some of its largest economies - notably France and Italy. - Sapa-dpa