EU negotiators seek legally binding plan to cut emissions

European Union negotiators on Tuesday will attempt to close a deal on a legal framework to make the bloc’s emission targets legally binding, ahead of a summit of global powers this week.

The EU is seeking to set out clear goals in its fight against climate change and is racing to finish the proposal ahead of a summit that is to be hosted by the US on Thursday and Friday, reported Reuters.

Europe's commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions have so far outstripped those of most major emitters but Brussels acknowledges that more ambitious targets are necessary.

The EU's goal is to eliminate its net emissions by 2050, and a 2030 target to cut emissions faster than previously planned.

The main quarrel in Tuesday's negotiations will be whether that goal should be more ambitious with the European Parliament pushing for an outright reduction in emissions of 60%.

"I'm absolutely hoping for a deal," Jytte Guteland, Parliament's lead negotiator, reportedly said. "But this net target is not ambitious enough."