On the second day of the European Council meeting, EU leaders have agreed to stick to an ambitious plan of fighting global warming. The plan lays out how the 27 member countries will cut carbon emissions by 20 percent in the next 12 years.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso attends a press conference at the EU headquarters in Brussels, capital of Belgium, Dec. 12, 2008. European Union (EU leaders wrapped up a two-day summit here on Friday with compromised deals on an economic stimulus package, climate change and the Lisbon Treaty. [Xinhua]

European diplomats haggled through the night on complex plans to fulfill promises made last year to meet the so-called 20-20-20 targets. That is, reducing greenhouse emissions by 20 percent, and ensuring that 20 percent of energy comes from wind, sun, and other renewable sources, all by the year 2020.

Desperate to get a deal, France, who holds the rotating presidency, backed several opt-outs to the strict reductions it wants industries to make. The opt-outs are aimed at heavy industry that might relocate to countries with looser environmental rules.

France also proposed leeway for countries very dependent on coal and oil for power generation. But the EU plan says such leeway must be temporary.

However, environmental groups are less pleased with what they see as a patchwork of compromises making up the plan.

In a separate development, EU leaders pushed Ireland into holding a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty is widely regarded as a blueprint for reforming the EU, making the bloc work more effectively.

The leaders also agreed on a 200 billion euro economic stimulus package to ease the effects of the global financial recession.

(CCTV December 13, 2008)