The European Commission will push for buildings, cars, power generators and electrical products to be more energy efficient in a plan that aims to cut the 25-nation bloc's energy use by 20% by 2020. The long-awaited action plan lays out a series of ways to reduce consumption in Europe at a time when demand for gas, oil and electricity is growing worldwide.
It said failure to use energy more efficiently would lead to direct costs of more than 100 billion euros ($125 billion) by 2020. The Commission says reducing energy consumption - and building houses and products to be less wasteful - will improve the security of the bloc's energy supply, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and boost innovation and technology by spurring industry to design better products.