EU unveils action plan to cut energy consumption

The European Commission unveiled Thursday an action plan to cut energy consumption by 20 percent annually from 2020, part of the European Union's new drive for a comprehensive policy on natural resources.

The plan contains 75 measures that the Commission, the EU's executive body, hopes will be adopted by the end of 2008. It sets energy efficiency standards for 14 kinds of products, from household to industrial goods.

The measures are aimed at making appliances, buildings, transport and generators more efficient, and Brussels believes they could save 100 billion euros (126 billion dollars) a year by 2020 if they are implemented.

"By saving energy, Europe will help address climate change, as well as its rising (energy) consumption and its dependence on fossil fuels imported from outside the Union's borders," Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said.

The outline of the plan was endorsed by EU leaders in June, and aims to save power at a time when the 25-nation bloc is focused on energy supply, particularly from Russia, which meets almost a quarter of its natural gas and oil needs.

The Commission hopes to implement the plan over the next six years.