Bust-up over climate weighs on EU-UK talks, risks trade rifts

(Reuters, 25 May 2020) Britain has its own ambitious goals for cutting emissions but is refusing to make binding climate-change commitments in the new deal it is seeking with the EU from 2021.

Britain's refusal to seal climate commitments in a new deal with the European Union to govern their relations after Brexit has become a stumbling block in their deadlocked talks and raises the risk of future trade disputes.

While Britain has joined the global Paris agreement to fight climate change and has its own ambitious emissions-cutting goals, London has refused to make binding commitments in the area in the new deal it is seeking with the EU from 2021.

"This creates big problems with the level playing field and is increasingly politically sensitive in the EU," said an official from the 27-nation bloc.

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Reuters, 25 May 2020: Bust-up over climate weighs on EU-UK talks, risks trade rifts