WWF Statement on behalf of Jason Anderson, Head of EU Climate and
Energy Policy, WWF European Policy Office, in reaction to the European
Council held in Brussels on 10-11 December 2009

"The European Council has missed a great opportunity to move forward
on emissions reductions targets, and to inspire real progress in the
final, crucial week of negotiations in Copenhagen. This is extremely
disappointing. The EU has always tried to position itself as a leader
in the global climate change debate - but that claim is looking
increasingly threadbare. The science makes it abundantly clear that
developed countries must cut emissions by 40 per cent by 2020 in order
to keep warming below the critical 2 degree threshold. Yet the EU has
again failed to move beyond its offer to reduce emissions by 20 per
cent - even though this can be achieved without any further domestic
effort."

"It also seems that the EU has failed to make any progress in closing
two key loopholes that will further undermine the already weak
emission targets. Until the EU makes progress in tackling so-called
"hot air" - the surplus emission allowances held by several Eastern EU
Member States - and the accounting tricks associated with land use and
forestry emissions, the ambition of any EU emission target will be
very much less than it seems. This loophole could allow countries to
set their own levels of projected deforestation, from which they will
assess how much carbon they have saved by not reaching their projected
level. As they can set the bar as high as they want to, it could allow
a handful of Member States to predict doom, only deliver disaster, and
claim credit for the difference.”