Environmentalists blast EU plan

POZNAN, Poland, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Industrialized European nations haven't set carbon emission levels low enough to end global warming, say environmentalists at a U.N. conference.

The U.N. climate conference in Poznan, Poland, ended Friday with sharp criticism of the European Union countries by environment groups who contend wealthy nations have not shown enough ambition, the BBC reported.

"Yet again the rich countries, who carry the historical responsibility for climate change, have failed to offer sufficient cuts," Tim Jones of the World Development Movement told the British broadcaster, putting into few words the objections of many environmental groups at Poznan.

But EU officials disagreed, saying the negotiations to build on the 1997 Kyoto Protocol were successful, and had actually advanced the agenda of last year's conference in Bali. There, U.N. delegates unveiled an expanded protocol deal committing industrialized countries to deeper emission cuts, perhaps by 2020, as well as a longer-term universal agreement, the BBC said.

"The conference enabled us to make real progress on every topic on the Bali road map," Martin Bursik, environment minister of the Czech Republic, which assumes the EU presidency in January, told reporters. "All the elements exist for us to reach an efficient and equitable agreement in Copenhagen (next year)."