The European Commission today intensified its campaign to limit global warming with a new Energy Policy for Europe to fight climate change. The Commission warned that if left unchecked, global warming is likely to trigger regional conflicts, poverty, famine, disease, and migration. To combat the dire threat of global warming, the Commission proposes that the group of developed countries should cut their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases responsible for warming the planet to an average of 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

The Commission said, "Urgent action is needed to limit climate change to a manageable level and prevent serious physical and economic damage." EU must reduce its emissions further and take the lead internationally to ensure that the 2°C global warming limit is respected. However, the Commission said that there is a 50 percent chance that global temperatures will rise by more than 5°C during this century. According to one estimate, by the middle of the century, 200 million people may become permanently displaced due to rising sea levels, heavier floods, and more intense droughts.

As part of its climate proposals, the Commission would establish an environmentally safe strategy to strengthen and expand the EU emissions trading scheme and eventually link it with other regional emissions trading markets.