The United States President Barack Obama and European Union leaders meeting in Brussels this month are to throw their combined weight behind tackling climate change.
The move is heralded in a document seen by Reuters Newsagency that will be a show of developed world solidarity on the need for a new global climate deal.
Reuters reports the guarded, diplomatic language in the proposal is likely to disappoint environmentalists calling for urgent, ambitious pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
“Sustainable economic growth will only be possible if we tackle climate change,” a draft communique ahead of the EU-US summit on March 26 says.
The text is subject to further negotiation between the EU and the US.
Both the EU and the US are preparing new pledges on cutting emissions for the first quarter of 2015, ahead of a United Nations summit in the French capital, Paris, that is meant to agree a new worldwide climate treaty.
Its aim must be to limit any global average temperature increase to less than two degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels.
The document says that as a result it “should therefore include ambitious mitigation contributions, notably from the world’s major economies and other significant emitters.”.
The EU has sought to lead efforts to curb global warming with more ambitious carbon-cutting goals than any other bloc.
However, some of its member states, notably Poland, say there is no point in Europe taking the lead when it is responsible for only just over 10 per cent of global emissions.
The US together with China, account for about 40 per cent of world greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier this month, the UN’s climate chief, Christiana Figueres, said closer cooperation between China and the US could boost prospects for a UN deal in 2015.
Reuters reports European environmental campaigners say such a partnership could also marginalise Europe in the debate and in the race to keep up with technological advances to decarbonise energy.
To prepare its negotiating stance ahead of the 2015 UN talks, the European Commission, the EU executive, in January outlined 2030 climate and energy policy, including a suggested 40 per cent carbon cutting target.
That compares with a 2020 goal to cut emissions by 20 per cent from 1990 levels, which the European Union has officially already achieved.
The US by contrast has said it will reduce carbon by 17 per cent by 2020 compared with 2005, which equates to a fall of 3.5 per cent below 1990 levels.
Just before President Obama’s visit to Brussels, a summit of EU leaders on March 20-21, will debate 2030 climate and energy policy, but is not expected to reach a firm agreement.
Poland, which relies on coal for most of its energy, would block a deal at this point.
Reuters reports Britain says Europe should not only make an early commitment to a cut of at least 40 per cent, it should be willing to increase the aim to 50 per cent if the rest of the world signs up to a deal.
A draft document this week said only that the EU will submit its contribution at the latest by the first quarter of 2015, raising the possibility the EU does not need to reach a political agreement until late this year.
EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said only that next week’s summit should send a strong signal.
“The sooner we have an overall signal, a political signal of what kind of ambition level we are heading for, the easier it will be to elaborate on the details,” she said.