The European Union is considering lowering its energy saving targets after 2021 according to Robert-Jan Bartunek at Reuters:
“The text drafted by the Maltese presidency of the European Council proposes new annual energy savings targets of 1.4 percent through 2030, down from 1.5 percent proposed by the European Commission.
“A reference to keeping the 1.5 percent target for 10 years beyond 2030 was also scrapped from the compromise text, which will be discussed by European diplomats later this week.”
The proposed change comes as several EU states raised concerns that they would be unable to meet the current targets:
“The European Union aims to achieve these targets by measures such as improving insulation and the energy consumption of buildings, more efficient consumer goods and introducing advanced [i.e. “smart”] electricity meters.”
Coming in the wake of the UK government’s reversal on its green energy commitments and, more recently, President Trump’s decision to overturn many of the climate measures introduced by the Obama Administration, any weakening of the EU commitment to the Paris Agreement will effectively end international cooperation on climate change.