EU proposes international energy efficiency agreement

Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said: “Climate change and energy security are global challenges that must to be tackled at a global level.

“If every single country in the world adopted an approach to energy efficiency, we could reduce global CO2 emissions, improve global energy security and contribute massively to economic development and the emergence of new and clean technologies.”

Such an agreement would coordinate energy efficiency initiatives around the world on a regulatory level as well as sharing information on energy saving strategies, measurement methods and working together to research new technologies.

The G8 Gleneagles Dialogue could provide the governing board for the proposed agreement, while the IEA monitoring its implementation, the commissioner said.

The Paris conference, which gathered the energy ministers of IEA member countries, also discussed energy security – an issue made more urgent by natural disasters like hurricane Katrina – and problems arising from “rising energy nationalism.”

Goska Romanowicz