De Morgen, 22 October 2009

European proposals for the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP 15) are based on obsolete numbers, warns De Morgen. The Flemish daily explains that the objective of global warming limited to 2 degrees - "which has virtually become a mantra" -  has already been exceeded. According to ecologist Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, "new detailed findings indicate that it would be better to aim for on a limit of 1.5 degrees maximum if we want to avoid a dangerous warming level". Moreover the EU's claim that its texts are based on numbers from the UN group of experts are false: in its latest report the IPCC advised that the peak in greenhouse gas emissions should be set at 2015 at the latest, and not 2020 as planned by the Europeans. However some sources close to the Belgian government explains that "it wasn't smart to suddenly change texts that for years have been part of an "agreed language".