Brussels (Platts)--9Apr2008

Tackling climate change is a growth opportunity for EU business, EU
industry and enterprise commissioner Gunter Verheugen told the European
Parliament's energy committee Tuesday.

"We can only solve our problems if we see climate change and industry as
being linked," said Verheugen. "They are not opponents."

The European Commission planned to present a package of sustainable
industry policy measures in May, he said, to go hand-in-hand with the EC's
climate protection package adopted in January. This latter set binding EU 2020
targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels and boost
renewables' market share to 20%.

"We want to see a stronger EU industry using environmentally friendly
methods," said Verheugen.

The sustainable industry policy package is being developed jointly with
EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs and EU environment commissioner Stavros
Dimas, said Verheugen.

The package would include measures for bringing more sustainable products
onto the market and for giving consumers better information about products, as
well as benchmark-based incentives to make companies produce more sustainably,
he said.

The EC wanted to extend the EU law on life-cycle environmental standards
for energy-using products to other products, said Verheugen. "The first step
could be products that improve energy efficiency, such as windows."

More energy-efficient product design could save millions of tonnes of CO2
by 2020, said Verheugen.

PROBLEM LOOMING IN COMMODITIES MARKET

Verheugen added that he saw an "enormous" problem looming in the
commodities market.

"I'm personally convinced that in 10 years the EU will be talking about
access to commodities with the same concerns as it talks now about access to
energy," he said.

The EC adopted papers in February looking at how to improve energy
efficiency in the EU's metals and forestry industries to help them cope with
global competition and climate change policies.

"It would be a political, ecological and social catastrophe if European
industries migrated and started to damage the environment elsewhere," said
Verheugen.