The overall purpose of the Action Plan is to improve energy efficiency within the EU by over 20% by 2020.
Drastic cuts in carbon emissions are necessary to prevent damaging climate change in Europe, and a key committee of the European Parliament recently concluded that the most immediate and cost-effective means of achieving carbon constraints is to use energy more efficiently.

On Wednesday, December 19th, the Industry Committee of the European Parliament backed the European Commission's proposed Action Plan for Energy Efficiency and the establishment of a Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund. In doing so, they have approved a plan that explicitly states that energy efficiency "is by far the most effective way concurrently to improve security of energy supply, reduce carbon emissions, foster competitiveness, and stimulate the development of a large leading-edge market for energy-efficient technologies and products" {emphasis added}. To achieve these objectives, the Action Plan targets the following sectors: residential and commercial buildings, the manufacturing industry, and transportation.

The recently enacted Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 establishes lighting efficiency standards that cannot be met by existing general service incandescent lamps (i.e., light bulbs) but can be met by fluorescent lamps and light emitting diodes (LEDs). As a practical matter, the tradeoff for most commercial end-users is between incandescents and fluorescents, with the much more expensive LEDs restricted to specialty applications. The question is whether this forced transition away from incandescents makes economic sense.

This article presents an analysis of the cost- effectiveness of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in commercial buildings. The approach used here is the reverse of the standard approach. Most analyses of CFLs begin (and end) by multiplying the difference in wattage between two lumen-equivalent lamps - one a compact fluorescent, the other a standard incandescent - times an average electric rate in cents per kilowatt-hour (c/kWh) and an average number of hours per year. Engineers regularly note, however, that this approach omits at least four other important aspects of the issue: HVAC (heating, ventilating, and cooling) interaction effects - energy HVAC interaction effects - cost Power factor costs - end-user and utility Lamp operating characteristics and capital costs.

(Crain's) - Energy Department officials stoutly defended their decision to kill the FutureGen project, saying it is "outrageous" to suggest it had anything to do with politics.

At the same time, Illinois officials are livid over the Bush administration's decision to kill the $1.75 billion project after a five-year site selection process slated the experimental zero-emission power plant for downstate Mattoon over two sites in Texas.