Sarkozy wants 30 per cent Europe emissions cut: Minister

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arkozy told a meeting with non-government groups that France was pushing for "one of the biggest possible commitments" by European countries, cuts of "up to 30 per cent as soon as possible," Jean-Louis Borloo told reporters.

Sarkozy will head to Copenhagen next week to join other world leaders at the UN climate change conference, where they hope to agree new targets for reducing emissions and their potentially devastating effects.

Rich countries are divided over the size of cuts and differ in their enthusiasm for legally-binding targets.
The European Union has pledged to cut emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, and has offered to go to 30 per cent if other industrialised parties agree to make similar pledges.

The US has offered to reduce carbon emissions from a 2005 benchmark by 17 per cent by 2020 and by 42 per cent by 2030 -- equivalent to a cut of only four percentage points compared to the most commonly used baseline year of 1990.
European leaders will hold a summit today and hope to put together a multi-billion euro fund to help developing nations tackle global warming.

Richer western European countries will be expected to put up most of the six billion euros (nine billion dollars) sought over the next three years.