No Emissions Targets in Bill

The new December 2009 international climate bill will not include greenhouse-gas emissions targets, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced. The international climate bill is being created by 190 countries to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an agreement that put a ceiling on emissions targets in industrialized countries. Such emissions limits were established in order to keep worldwide temperatures within a safe range. The countries don't have enough time to work out a plan before the bill’s December deadline, Barroso said. “Unfortunately, it’s now impossible for several reasons to have a complete agreement on all the binding targets...That is not realistic anymore,” said Barroso. A universal understanding of the best ways to monitor emissions is not in place and many see this year’s agreement as one of many ”building blocks” needed to create a future plan. The European Union wants an international commitment to reducing emissions levels to 20 percent lower than they were in 1990 by the year 2020.