Recession lowers cost of EU emissions cuts

Article reports that the European Commission wants the EU to draw up a coherent position ahead of the resumption of United Nations climate change talks later in 2010, which stalled after the inconclusive outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit in December 2009.

Analysis has shown that the recession since 2008 has slashed by almost a third the cost of meeting the existing European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions targets.

Article reports that Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Change, will hold discussions in the following weeks within the Commission and with the member states in an attempt to gauge the potential costs and benefits of toughening the targets.