Energy efficiency could become law

10 July 2008

EU environment and energy ministers have been meeting in Paris, with proposals for legally binding energy efficiency targets on the agenda.

A spokesman for energy commissioner Andris Pibalgs said the aim was to cut consumption by 20 per cent by 2020.

Laws will be drafted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve efficiency across the European Union, with the intention of making them obligatory in the same way as budget deficit ceilings.

However French environment minister Jean-Louis Borloo said: "This is very difficult to evaluate and so we must work out many details before it can be applied."

Earlier Mr Pibalgs had outlined energy effieciency as a priority, being the "best tool to mitigate the effect of increasing oil prices on citizens' welfare".

Research by price comparison website Tecsocompare.com has found that 53 per cent of people would be more likely to make energy saving changes if they believed it would save them money.