Barroso advocates more ambitious commitments on climate change

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has described how the European Union needs to use extra efforts if it is to reach its 2020 green targets. Barroso said:

“Whilst we welcome what was achieved, we must also say that further work on reaching our 2020 objectives will be needed. The Commission estimates that the outcome reached would allow delivering approximately two-thirds of the total energy savings of the Commission's original proposal."

The initial 2020 target was introduced to get the 27 member states back on track to receiving an overall reduction in energy usage. The Commission has described that without the Energy Efficiency Directive, the European Union will only be able to reach a saving of around 10%.

In theory, the target is one of three targets for the European to reach and is the only one on which the EU is not on course to reaching, and all parties are aware that it is the only one that is not binding. The other two targets are to cut carbon emissions by 20% and to increase the share of renewable energy in the mix usage to 20%.

It is thought that the weakness of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which has removed incentives for investing in a low-carbon economy, is a contributing factor. However experts anticipate that the Commission are due to announce their plans to support the ETS to increase the price of carbon allowances.