Energy White Paper fails to rise to CO<SUB>2</SUB> challenge

The EC's carbon dioxide emissions will increase substantially over the next two decades without major interventions in the energy market, according to a White Paper on energy policy issued by the European Commission in December.¹ But the White Paper fails to reconcile the conflict between the current drive to liberalise energy markets and push down prices, and the weakening momentum towards energy conservation. Nuclear power and "clean coal" are seen as means of reducing the EC's dependency on oil and gas imports, but detailed proposals to promote energy efficiency and the renewables will not emerge for some time.