EU to focus on energy efficiency.

摘要

On July 23, the European Commission (EC) proposed a goal to improve energy efficiency by 30, a more aggressive target than the 25 increase that had been under consideration earlier. "Given the need for energy security in gas because of the situation in Russia and Ukraine, what we think is a more ambitious energy efficient savings target is appropriate," said EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger. While billed as an effort to reduce dependence on Russian gas supplies, the target dovetailed with the EU's efforts to fight climate change, but not everyone was impressed. Environmentalists argued that the 30 was inadequate, pointing to EC research indicating that a 40 efficiency target will likely reduce gas imports by 40, but a 30 target will probably result in a reduction of only about 22.