Boosting jobs and growth through climate action

Last year marked the turning point in the fight to protect our planet. Science and public opinion put the issue at the top of the political agenda. Governments have started to respond. Following the Commission's proposals last January, all heads of state and government have committed to cut EU emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, or 30 per cent as part of an international agreement.

They have also committed to 20 per cent renewable energy and a 20 per cent increase in energy efficiency by 2020. At the Bali conference, the international community began moving towards a binding set of targets. This would not have happened without European leadership. Calls for a truly global deal on climate change resonate more strongly than ever.

The European Commission now moves to turn the European Union's commitments into concrete action. The European Union is ready to lead on climate change. Our proposals will implement the agreed targets in a climate-friendly, citizen-friendly and industry-friendly way, so that growth and jobs can be sustained.

Our mission, indeed our duty, is to build, over the next 50 years and beyond, a global climate- friendly economy.

The evidence is overwhelming. If we just continue as before, by 2030 world energy demand will be 50 per cent higher than today and global carbon dioxide emissions will have risen by nearly 60 per cent. Our citizens are already witnessing dramatic price increases of energy today.

If we have the courage to change, we can slash our oil and gas import bill by €50 billion by 2020. We can cut our external dependency on oil and gas and increase our energy security. A Europe that depends less on carbon, with a stronger renewable energy component, is, of course, also more secure from any possible problem of energy supply.

We are very upfront about the cost of these latest proposals.

The cost of this package works out at roughly €150 per person each year - or the equivalent of refilling the average family car three times. This is one tenth of the cost of inaction.

The new climate-friendly economy is a major economic opportunity for Europe. Globally, the overall value of the low-carbon energy sector could be as high as $3 trillion per year worldwide by 2050, and it could employ more than 25 million people.

Alone, the global carbon market, which our EU emissions trading scheme has pioneered, is already worth €20 billion a year today and it could be worth twenty times that by 2030.

So building a low-carbon economy offers the chance to create thousands of new businesses, hundreds of thousands of new jobs and a vast new export market on which Europe can be a world leader.

Climate change is the product of many generations but overcoming it must be the great project of this generation. Tackling climate change is crucial to safeguard the future of our planet. It also brings major new opportunities for Europe. The time has come to seize them with confidence and with both hands.

Mr Barroso is President of the European Commission.