The European Commission approved on Wednesday detailed plans to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent and set each EU state individual obligatory targets to get one-fifth of all energy demand in the bloc from renewable sources by 2020.
BARI, Italy (Reuters) - Italy wants to discuss with the European Commission its new targets under the EU plan to fight climate change and expects Brussels to be flexible in the debate, Italy's Economic Development Minister said on Thursday.
The European Commission approved on Wednesday detailed plans to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent and set each EU state individual obligatory targets to get one-fifth of all energy demand in the bloc from renewable sources by 2020.
"I believe we need a discussion," Pierluigi Bersani, who oversees energy and industry issues, told a news conference in the southern Italian city of Bari.
Under the EU plan, Italy would have to boost its renewable energy production to 17 percent of total energy demand by 2020 from 5.2 percent in 2005.
!ADVERTISEMENT!"I believe it is inevitable that in this discussion Italy will put forward the problem of revision of numeric targets... and the need of a greater flexibility in implementing investments in areas even outside the EU," Bersani said.
Bersani said he hoped for a friendly discussion with Brussels. He stopped short of saying Italy would not be able to meet the obligatory targets.
Under the EU plan, member states unable to meet the targets would be allowed to pay other EU countries to produce renewable energy on their behalf.
Italian renewable energy association APER said separately on Thursday the 17 percent target was "technologically and economically reachable" and urged the government to prepare a clear energy policy to meet the EU goals.
Bersani said discussion on cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by industries would be of particular interest.
Italy is yet to send a final version of the national plan of CO2 emission caps for smokestack industries to Brussels after the plan was revised to meet the Commission's request to tighten limits under the EU emission trading scheme (ETS) in 2008-2012.
Bersani said uneasy consultations with industries over the national CO2 allocation plan (NAP) were due to finish on Friday. After that the NAP would go to an interministerial committee and finally be signed by Bersani and Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio -- who often clash on energy issues.
"Our goal is that companies (covered by ETS) should have their quotes assigned by the end of February," Bersani said.
Italy is lagging far behind on targets of the Kyoto Protocol of fighting climate change. Italy has to cut its greenhouse emissions by about seven percent from 1990 levels by 2012, but emissions increased 12 percent in 2004.
(Reporting by Elisa Forte, writing by Svetlana Kovalyova)
