Green EU Summit Prepared

In the run-up to her first summit as president of the European Union, the German chancellor told Munich-based daily Süddeutsche Zeitung on Sunday that European leaders "are going to ratify an action plan for climate protection and energy policy that is more concrete than ever before in the history of the European Union."

But central proposals of the action plan are bound to cause contentious debate at the summit on Thursday and Friday. The plan includes a commitment to supply 20 percent of Europe's energy needs from renewable sources such as wind power, a leading industry in Germany.

After an early round of informal talks in Brussels on Monday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier admitted that "the obligation of the 20 percent goal will still need to be negotiated at the summit." France and Finland, for example, have signalled their reluctance to accept the binding goal for fear that it could jeopardize their national energy mix.

Chancellor Merkel also plans to push for a Europe-wide reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2), the man-made greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. The proposed plan would require the European states to reduce their overall CO2-output by 20 percent below 1990-levels. The 27 EU member states have agreed in principle to set this goal for 2020, but will have to ratify the plan at the summit in order for it to become binding.

Member states have already agreed on a 10 percent increase of bio-fuels -- such as ethanol gained from corn crops -- over the next three years, assuming sufficient amounts of bio-fuel can be produced to meet the demand.

Europe becoming global role model

Germany has assumed a lead role in pushing the environmental envelope and has already achieved a near-20 percent national reduction of CO2 emissions below the levels of 1990. If the EU action plan is ratified, Germany could reduce its overall CO2 output by as much as 40 percent. But not all member states will be held up to this high standard; lower goals will be set for economically weaker EU countries.

The action plan would also propel Europe to the forefront of the global movement to mitigate the effects of global warming. Chancellor Merkel spoke of a "paradigm shift" in Sunday's interview with the German daily: "So far, European nations made their own energy policy," but "all that is now up for negotiation."

The German presidency of this year's G8 summit will also allow Merkel to talk to developing nations about alternative energy policies. Referring to the G8 summit, which will take place in June in the northern German resort town of Heiligendamm, Merkel specifically mentioned China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.

Indeed, China appeared to hop on the green bandwagon prematurely on Monday, as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed in his annual state of the nation address to curb "inefficient" economic growth and "excessive energy consumption."

Merkel also told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that a rethinking of environmental policies was taking place in the United States. She described "remarkable" progress there in the development of bio-fuels, but also said governments needed to "set the proper parameters" for the agricultural shifts this technology will likely bring about. "Once they identify a problem," Merkel said of the Americans, "they develop a strong ambition to solve it."