The German government may reportedly trigger a European "climate crisis" by enacting extremely limited carbon emission rules.
BBC News said it learned the German Cabinet is likely to require industry reduce carbon emissions by 0.6 percent between 2004 and 2012. That is a target environmental groups call "pathetic and shameful."
Such a German decision might also influence other EU nations that still must set their own emission rules.
"These figures are unbelievably unambitious," said Regina Gunther from the World Wildlife Fund in Germany. "It is shameful that our environment minister has agreed to this."
Some climate analysts say such a decision might negatively affect efforts to solve the climate change problem across Europe.
The German decision would represent a major success for Germany's business lobby, the BBC noted, and would satisfy U.S. skeptics who predicted Europe would talk big on climate change, but fail to impose substantial carbon restrictions on its own industries.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
