Greeny News

The vote not to put an end to green activists 'hopes for a more ambitious reduction target - a bigger cut of 30% to 2020 levels by 1990 instead of 20% - will be discussed as the subject further, but it is a setback.

The political wrangling involved a series of amendments, proposed by Conservative groupings of MEPs, that would have weakened the resulting resolution to an extent that was not acceptable to the Green MEP grouping.

Greens in Parliament will now try to push harder for the target in future votes, and by involving Member States and the European Commission.

Nick Stern, former Treasury economist and now chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said the vote result: "This fall's a missed opportunity and the EU risks in the economic growth story of the future \. "

When the vote was originally scheduled to take place, on 23 June, a survey of Tory MEPs by the Guardian found that the leader of the Conservative party in the European parliament, Martin Callanan, was advising his colleagues to vote against the higher target, and several were planning to comply. Only one of those contacted in advance of the vote said she would definitely vote for the higher target.

The revelation prompted a parliamentary inquiry to the Prime Minister who, to convince the deputies that he swore. But a follow-up study of The Guardian and The Friends of the Earth has determined that the Prime Minister has failed to persuade them to agree to lower carbon dioxide emissions.

At least eight members of the group of 23 said they would vote against the measure, while most others do not respond to e-mails and phone calls. Only two MPs said they would definitely vote for it, and a handful were undecided.