European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said Sunday the international community must do more to ensure a climate change agreement can be reached next week in Copenhagen.
Barroso said he and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed China's offer to curb emissions per unit of gross domestic product in 2020 by between 40 and 45 percent, based on 2005 levels.
The two leaders spoke over dinner on the eve of the 12th EU-China summit where concerns over greenhouse gas emissions were expected to overshadow other issues, a week before the United Nations Climate Change Conference begins on December 7.
"I certainly asked the Chinese and all our partners to explore the outer limits of their position," Barroso told reporters late Sunday. "What is at stake is very important: it's the future of our planet."
"We can negotiate with each other... we can always discuss percentages... but we cannot negotiate with physics we cannot negotiate against the laws of nature, what science tells us is 2C is the maximum we can accept in increase in temperature."
Beijing on Thursday, for the first time, put a specific number on its Copenhagen offer, announcing it would curb the emissions per unit of gross domestic product in 2020 by between 40 and 45 percent, based on 2005 levels.
The pledge is basically a promise of greater energy efficiency, but China's fast-growing emissions will continue to rise along with its economy.
The plan announced by China -- the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases -- signalled that maintaining economic growth remained its priority.