The European Commission has recently announced that European Union member states will have to improve their energy efficiency by nearly a third in the next 15 years. The new proposal, designed to enhance efficiency by 30% by 2030, has been criticized by some industries that wanted to avoid setting a firm goal. These companies stressed the importance to rely on the market and the EU’s carbon price in order to provide an economic incentive to cut energy waste. According to theEU commissioner for energy, the proposal represents an adequate instrument to drive the EU towards increased security of supply, innovation and sustainability. In line with this, the EU commissioner has highlighted that the new plan represents a concrete signal to encourage the market development. Moreover, the proposed target will foster further investments in energy-saving technologies to the benefit of businesses, consumers and the environment. In addition to that, the new program will result in significant cost savings for consumers. Furthermore, the goal could reduce Europe’s reliance on imports of gas and other fossil fuels from states as Russia, the EU’s climate chief explains. The commission has estimated that for every 1% in energy savings, EU gas imports could be expected to fall by 2.6%. However, some energy efficiency experts and some environmental groups have criticized the new efficiency target, as inadequate to the challenge of tackling climate change and saving on imports. The gLAWcal Team EPSEI project Wednesday, 23 July 2014 (Source: The Guardian)