Brussels - The European Union's Swedish presidency wants global climate talks in Copenhagen in December to set the first-ever greenhouse-gas emissions targets for airlines and shipping companies.

But EU member states with large shipping sectors are fighting to block the proposal, which would force airlines around the world to cut emissions by 10 per cent and shipping firms by 20 per cent in the next 10 years, EU diplomats said Friday.

Sweden, current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, wants a meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg on Wednesday to endorse the proposal as part of the bloc's preparation for United Nations talks on climate change in Copenhagen in December.

The EU is keen to seize the initiative in those talks by coming to the table with a blueprint deal approved by all 27 member states.

A draft agreement prepared for the environment ministers' meeting and seen by the German Press Agency dpa calls on the UN conference to set targets of "-10 per cent for the aviation sector and -20 per cent for the maritime sector below
2005 levels by 2020."

Airlines and shipping companies are not currently covered by international emission rules. The EU has long argued that they should be included in the Copenhagen deal, but has hitherto avoided proposing specific targets.

However, EU diplomats said it was not yet clear whether environment ministers would endorse the reduction targets, which were first proposed by the EU's executive, the European Commission.

Member states with substantial shipping industries, such as Cyprus, Denmark, Germany and Greece, say that the proposed targets would cripple the sector and could force European firms to move their headquarters out of Europe, according to EU sources.

In a bid to allay those fears, the draft says that the caps should be "implemented in a manner that ensures a level playing-field" between firms in different countries. (dpa)