"Technology is the main response to the environmental challenges"; in addition, it plays "a key role in improving energy efficiency, an area in which we can and must act now". The EU’s attention to environmental issues is confirmed: the report on the development of environmental innovation, submitted by the EU Commission, moves in this direction. Janez Potoènik, in charge of science, highlights the "powerful growth" of the "environmental industries"; but "the productive sector must be strengthened as it accounts for 2.1% of the Gross Domestic Product" of the 27 member states, with 3.5 million jobs, "three quarters of which are concentrated in water resources and waste management", as well as the control of atmospheric pollution and soil reclamation. The "challenge" to be faced, according to the Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, is to achieve the goals that have been set out by the March Summit, "aiming at reducing energy consumption by 20% and increasing the use of renewable resources by 20% before 2020". Thus the EU Commission intends to promote some effective plans, such as: strengthening the joint action of the EU and the member states "to encourage the large-scale adoption of nature-respecting technology"; helping companies that work in wind power; promoting "green contracts"; creating "a store of strategic knowledge for environmental innovation".
