Oettinger values EU 2020 energy goals at €1 trln

Europe needs to spend one trillion euros over the next decade on overhauling its energy system to reduce pollution and ensure supply, EU energy chief Günther Oettinger is expected to warn in the next few weeks.

"The energy challenge is one of the greatest tests Europe has to face. It will take years and decades to put our energy system onto a more sustainable and secure path," reads an early draft of the EU's 'Energy 2020' strategy, which the 27-member bloc's energy commissioner may propose as soon as November.
The strategy lays out how Europe might achieve the twin goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and preventing energy crises, such as the three-week cut in supplies of Russian gas via Ukraine in January 2009.

That calls for massive refurbishment of its draughty buildings and creaking distribution networks, a tough foreign policy stance for negotiating energy imports and new powers to force through unsightly infrastructure projects.

News source: EurActiv link: article