Brussels: Greenpeace Protesters Demand Deeper Cuts

Environmental Greenpeace activists attempted to hijack the arrival of European Union leaders at the Brussels summit on Thursday. They are demanding a deeper cut in carbon emissions.

[Mark Breddy, Greenpeace Spokesman]:
“I think it is very important that the European leaders agree today to a unilateral cut of 30 percent to give Copenhagen a chance….to save Copenhagen. And the EU can do this at no real extra costs. There would be lots of benefits like green jobs and economic recovery so it is important that we do this.”

Breddy says the EU could go much further because such a commitment would bring new jobs.

[Mark Breddy, Greenpeace Spokesman]:
“The EU is treating the negotiations in Copenhagen as if they were trade talks. They are not. They are talks about the future of our planet and we want the EU to take these talks seriously we want them to lead from the front, to commit to a unilateral cut of 30 percent today at the summit and to go to Copenhagen so that we can achieve a 40 percent cut there from all the industrialized nations.”

Leaders meeting in Copenhagen are seeking agreement on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol for fighting climate change. The protocol expires in 2012.

(NTDTV)