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By Jeff Mason

BRUSSELS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - European Union ministers backed ambitious targets on Tuesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions and started the touchy process of determining which states should carry the heaviest burden to combat climate change.

Environment ministers from the 27-nation bloc supported a binding commitment to cut the bloc's emissions unilaterally by at least 20 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.

They also backed a call for industrialised nations to reduce emissions of the gases blamed for heating the earth by 30 percent over that period, a goal the EU would match if other rich nations such as the United States joined in.

"So as far as these two objectives are concerned, those are things we agree," said German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency. The targets would be mandatory, he said.

The ministers were preparing for a March 8-9 summit of the 27-nation bloc's leaders, who will have the final say on the EU's climate change and energy strategy.

The targets are expected to form the basis of the EU's negotiating position for a global agreement to cut emissions after 2012, when the first period covered by the Kyoto Protocol on climate change ends.

The unanimous decision was a victory for the executive European Commission, which originally proposed the figures and will represent the EU in international talks.

"I'm ... very encouraged by the fact that all member states strongly supported our proposal and the need for the European Union to continue its leadership in fighting climate change," Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said.

But several countries tempered their support with pleas for concessions to make their national share of the unilateral EU reductions less severe.

BURDEN SHARING

Gabriel said some states were reluctant to sign up to the targets without a clear idea of how the burden would be distributed, while others pushed for a base year other than 1990 to be used when determining the required emissions cuts.

He said 1990 would be the reference year for the overall target, but the EU would look at using other years for some new east European member states' targets.

Newcomers such as Poland want to use an earlier base year because their industries collapsed in 1990 and emissions dropped as a result of the fall of communism. Polish officials said Poland wanted to use 1988 as its base for emissions cuts.

Commissioner Dimas said the EU would come up with a "differentiated approach" on dividing up the targets.

A statement agreed by the ministers called on the Commission to start an analysis of criteria for burden-sharing, including "socio-economic parameters" and other relevant factors.

Finland, which spoke against the unilateral target at the meeting, said the final burden-sharing agreement must take into account different conditions among member states.

"The climate in Finland is cold, distances are long and the share of energy-intensive industries is relatively high," Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said in a statement, saying his country did not want its share to be unreasonable.

The 15 "old" states that were members before the EU expanded to 25 nations in 2004 and 27 countries in 2007 have a collective target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent by 2012 compared to 1990 levels.

Germany's Gabriel said some countries would be expected to reduce more than others in the strategy for 2020.

Environmental group WWF said the ministers' decision confirmed the EU's intent to meet its international obligations.

Greenpeace urged EU leaders to sign up to a unilateral 30 percent reduction goal, a more ambitious target that also has the support of Sweden and Denmark. (additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Paul Taylor, and Rex Merrifield)

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