2009.03.01. 12:11
EU official urges global "green New Deal" at Budapest summit
<b>Budapest</b> - A global environmental agreement or "green New Deal" could halt the irreversible damaging effects of climate change, European Commissioner for the Environment <em>Stavros Dimas</em> told a climate summit in Budapest on Friday.
He said the European Union had set an example to the rest of the world last December when it adopted its directive on reducing green house gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and its policy on energy efficiency and strategy on climate change.
Brussels environment protection objectives have been crafted in line with the union's goals to stimulate the economy, he said, pointing out that the strategy on climate change was aimed at reducing energy dependence and creating 700,000 new jobs in the renewable energy branch of the economy.
Beside a global solution Dimas said the public, too, had an important role in protecting the climate by being more environmentally conscious in their daily practices.
