European Union (EU) member states came out in favour of a move to ban the introduction of low and standard-efficiency models from the market during Friday’s (March 27th) Ecodesign Regulatory Committee meeting.

Circulators are mainly found in boilers and heating control systems and act as water pumps.

The proposal has been put to the European Parliament and Council and the measures could come into place by as early as July this year.

If accepted, the move could save around 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from being pumped into the atmosphere by 2020.

Furthermore, it would cut energy expenditure across the continent by 23 terawatt-hours – roughly the annual electricity used by Ireland.

“The measure is a concrete contribution to reach the EU’s energy efficiency and climate protection targets,” explained Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

He added that there will be additional benefits for society and industry, as outlined in the European Commission Economic Recovery Plan.

Last week, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas urged the United Nations to make progress towards a deal on climate change ahead of December’s meeting in Copenhagen.

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