So there is another way!

Roadmap to a clean, competitive future by Connie Hedegaard
The Malta Independent On-line

This week, the European Commission adopted an energy efficiency plan and a roadmap on how to turn Europe into a low-carbon society by 2050. But why on earth spend time on something that is four decades away when we can barely see the end of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, some may ask?

In fact, there are good reasons to do so and they are not all about some distant future. They are also about jobs. They are about innovation and competitiveness. And they are about reducing our energy bill. Last year, for example, Europe paid $70 billion more on oil imports than the year before. That is almost a third of what all the EU member states combined spend on research and development. Imagine if Europe relied much more on renewable energy and didn’t have to send fortunes to foreign regimes each time the oil prices spike. That is what this package is about.