BRUSSELS (Reuters) - There is a growing number of European Union leaders who support the goal of making the EU economy neutral in terms of carbon emissions by 2050, but there is no unanimity yet, a senior EU official said on Wednesday.
"An overwhelming majority of member states are moving in that direction," the official said ahead of an EU summit on Thursday that would discuss the issue.
"I hope that of the trend continues and we get unanimity on Thursday," the official said.
The European Union has agreed to substantial reductions of carbon emissions by 2030 and its executive, the Commission, wants the bloc to reduce them to zero by 2050 to help stop global warming, the rise of average worldwide temperatures.
Some countries heavily dependent on burning fossil fuels for their energy like Poland or the Czech Republic, have been reluctant to accept the more ambitious goals that the EU hopes to present at a climate change conference under United Nations' auspices in September.
(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski)
