Brussels, 26/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - In a joint statement published on Thursday 26 November, European Council President in office Fredrik Reinfeldt and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso welcomed the proposals submitted, with concrete numbers, over the last few days by the United States and China. US President Barack Obama, who will attend the start of the conference in Copenhagen, announced on 25 November that he was proposing a 17% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020, compared with 2005 levels, with a reduction of 30% by 2025 and 42% by 2030. China said on Thursday 26 November that it could reduce its “carbon intensity” (the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of economic output) by 40-45% by 2020, compared with 2005. “We welcome the news that the US and China have both indicated what they are prepared to do, in concrete numbers, on mitigation. The US and China are essential players in this negotiation. Copenhagen must not be allowed to fail,” say Reinfeldt and Barroso. The EU is currently “carefully” assessing the American and Chinese bids. The American proposal, even though the 2020 target may seem disappointing, “entails strong reductions by 2025 and 2030”, note the presidents of the European Council and the Commission. This proposal is also encouraging and will no doubt be discussed with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (who also will travel to the Copenhagen conference) at the EU-China summit in Nanjing on Monday 30 November. “We will continue to urge the US, China and all our other partners in this negotiation to go to the outer limits of what is possible in order to find agreement in Copenhagen,” say Reinfeldt and Barroso. (H.B./transl.rt)