Transatlantic bid to boost energy efficiency

Date: 04/05/2000

By Renée Cordes

TOP US and EU environmental officials are expected to throw their weight behind far-reaching targets for energy efficiency on both sides of the Atlantic next week.

Under the plan drawn up by some of the world's leading environmental groups, both sides would pledge to limit state subsidies for coal and nuclear energy while ensuring adequate financial support for wind, solar and other kinds of renewable power.

Although the measures would be voluntary, supporters of the move say it would send a strong message that policy-makers were finally taking environmental concerns seriously as energy sectors are opened up to competition.

Talks on the proposal look set to dominate next week's meeting of the Trans-Atlantic Environment Dialogue (TAED). "Hopefully the end result will be a very ambitious plan and we can come up with pro-active proposals for making the whole liberalisation process more environmentally friendly," said Rob Bradley of Climate Network Europe. "There are some very positive aspects of liberalisation, like costs becoming more transparent, but there has not been a lot of thinking as to what this does to energy efficiency."

The move follows the unveiling of a new Commission action plan designed to boost energy efficiency within the EU which includes calls for Union-wide energy audits and the reinforcement of existing energy-saving measures.