After months of tough negotiations, the European Commission will recommend a new energy savings target of 30 percent on Wednesday as part of plans to combat global warming, an EU source said. The source, who asked not to be named, said the 2030 programme figure would be announced at a press conference by EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger due at 1215 GMT. The press conference was due originally at 1015 GMT but was delayed as negotiations continued, an EU official said.
In January, the Commission, the European Union's executive arm, said the 28-nation bloc should cut its greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030, with renewables accounting for 27 percent of energy use. It decided not to set an efficiency target because of sharp differences between member states, especially as steady energy prices in recent years have reduced the incentive to make costly investments in new technology.
But Russian threats to halt gas supplies to Kiev over the Ukraine crisis, potentially threatening EU supplies ahead of peak demand in the coming winter months, has brought the issue back into focus. The proposed targets to 2030 would build on the current programme, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent compared with 1990 levels by 2020. Environmentalists wanted the Commission to go much further with the 2030 figures - with savings of up to 55 percent touted in some cases - arguing only more substantial cuts would be enough to make a real difference to global warming and energy self-sufficiency.
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