14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the European Commission, one of the governing bodies of the European Union, announced a new set of plans today, January 22, dealing with greenhouse gas reductions throughout the entire continent. The documents call for a 40 percent drop in emissions by the end of 2030.
Another important provision in the plans calls for all member states of the European Union to derive no less than 27 percent of all the energy they consume from renewable sources by the same date. Both these values are lower than what was proposed in the draft versions of these bills.
José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said that these measures would spike interest and development in renewable energy technologies all over the continent, and welcomed the new framework despite its cuts on proposed reduction levels, Business Green reports.
“Climate action is central for the future of our planet, while a truly European energy policy is key for our competitiveness. Today's package proves that tackling the two issues simultaneously is not contradictory, but mutually reinforcing,” the top European official commented earlier today.