MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - Unilever, IKEA, Philips, Eneco and several other corporations have expressed their support for the European Union's climate and energy proposals for 2030 in their joint statement Wednesday.
"Renewable energy plays a key role in a competitive, secure and clean energy system. An ambitious and binding target for renewable energy provides the necessary long term certainty and clarity for investors and consumers," Jeroen de Haas, CEO of Eneco Group – an international sustainable energy company based in the Netherlands – said in a statement about the EU 2030 climate and energy package.
"It's the right time for Europe to send a clear signal on climate action to business and the international community. Bold, transformational targets are good for jobs, good for innovation, good for investment and good for the planet. It's time to go all in," Steve Howard, Chief Sustainability Officer of IKEA Group, stated.
The European Commission proposed earlier this year to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent compared with 1990 levels, raise energy efficiency by 30 percent and increase the production of renewable energy by 27 percent by 2030.
The package of proposed climate change policies is expected to be approved by the European Council at a meeting on October 23.
Earlier this month the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania expressed their disapproval of the proposed policies, calling them unrealistic. These countries are among the poorest in Europe and produce high volumes of carbon dioxide disproportionate to the level of their economies primarily due to their reliance on coal.
