By Mark Gollom

In Wednesday night's French debate, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper claimed that the Tories "hard targets" of reducing Canada's greenhouse gas emissions (to 20 per cent of 2006 levels by 2020) is recognized by world leaders as one of the most aggressive plans in the world.

When asked by the Reality Check team which leaders he was referring to, the Conservative war room e-mailed quotes from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and José Barroso, the president of the European Commission. The comments were made at the June 2007 G8 summit in Berlin.

In an interview with CBC's The National,Merkel said: "Canada says it also sees the necessity to put in place long-term goals for reduction. By the middle of the century, Canada wants to reduce emissions significantly. I can say I am encouraged that we agree that, long-term, we need to reduce emissions significantly."

But Merkel's quote included the line: "Of course we are not happy at this point that Canada has abandoned Kyoto's goals." That was not in the e-mail sent to us.

As for Barroso's endorsement of Canada, he didn't specifically single out Canada for praise, saying only that "(Canada and Europe) agree on the need "to act swiftly on climate change."

Barroso added that the European Union and Canada "underlined the need for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2050" and "are committed to work actively and constructively together."

Hardly a strong endorsement from either leader.