EU pledges to maintain emissions goals
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy says European Union (EU) countries have agreed to maintain their targets and timetables to tackle climate change.
Mr Sarkozy made the announcement at the end of a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.
Plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by one fifth by 2020 had been challenged by some EU member states.
Speaking at a news conference at the end of the meeting, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the aim was to reach agreement before the end of the year.
"Europe must have its own climate change policy to go to the negotiations in Copenhagen to reach the successor of the Kyoto agreement," he said.
"I'm confident after this morning that everybody understands the importance of reaching that agreement.
"There's intricate work that's got to be done over the next few weeks so that we can make these decisions in December."
- BBC
