The European Union (EU) on Saturday stood by its offer to move to a 30 percent cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 despite the failure of last month’s climate summit to secure a legally-binding deal.

The EU’s official emissions cut announced last year was 20 percent over the next decade from 1990 levels. A further cut, to 30 percent, was only meant to be offered if an ambitious deal had been reached at Copenhagen.

“We definitely think we should maintain the 30 percent offer. We think it is very, very important. It has always been a conditional offer but it is a very important signal that it is maintained,” British Energy and Climate Change Minister Ed Miliband told the press, referring to European environment ministers meeting informally in Sevilla last week.

The roughly 50 nations which signed on to the Copenhagen Accord last month have until the end of January to state their official carbon reduction commitments to the United Nations. European environment leaders are hoping that the accord can still evolve into a legally-binding deal at the next climate change summit, to be held in Mexico in December.