EU considers raising carbon reduction targetsEU considers raising carbon reduction targets

The European Union (EU) is considering raising its target for cutting carbon emissions to 30 per cent, the arguments for which will be laid out in a paper at the end of this month. Connie Hedegaard, the EU's climate commissioner, will propose increasing the target from 20 per cent on 1990 levels to 30 per cent. It is thought that this increase will drive up the price of carbon. Ms Hedegaard said that quite simply a high price would cause businesses to rethink their actions, the Guardian reports.

With business as usual and the 20 per cent target we will not see a substantially higher price of carbon."[At] around 30 (£25.60) [per tonne of carbon] people would start to do things differently," she explained. A higher price for carbon will also help drive innovation within the low carbon economy, Ms Hedegaard claimed.

A higher price for carbon will also help drive innovation within the low carbon economy, Ms Hedegaard claimed. She argued that under the current climate there is not enough incentive for people to seriously look for alternatives.