Cutting carbon 'will improve EU resilience to oil industry variations'

Europe's ability to withstand pricing shocks within the oil industry could be enhanced by efforts to cut carbon, it is suggested.

The UK's energy and climate change minister and Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, Chris Huhne, is one of seven representatives from EU member states to outline the case for carbon cuts of 30 per cent by 2020.

In a letter to the Guardian, they explain that the current target of 20 per cent does not do enough to keep the continent on its long-term route to low-carbon living.

Already there are resources available to achieve 25 per cent reductions, they say - but add that a more ambitious aim could improve countries' ability to withstand changing pricing levels in the oil industry.

"Putting in place an ambitious plan for Europe's low-carbon future has wider benefits than tackling climate change," the letter claims.

"It will increase the continent's resilience against oil price spikes and reduce its dependence on imported energy."