EU sets ambitious goal on energy efficiency

The European Commission (EC) announced on Thursday an action plan setting an ambitious goal of cutting Europe's energy consumption by 20 percent before 2020.

The plan, unveiled by EC Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs in Brussels, will be considered on Friday at the EU summit in Finland.

It lays out over 75 measures including tougher energy standards for electrical goods, a low-energy building strategy and more fuel efficient cars.

Such measures, if implemented, would deliver an annual saving of 100 billion euros (around 126 billion U.S. dollars) for the whole European Union (EU), the world's second largest consumer of energy, according to the plan.

They would also help the EU meet its Kyoto Protocol target to cut emissions by 8 percent.

Source: Xinhua