BRUSSELS—European Union countries will have to strive to make energy savings of 30% by 2030, according to controversial proposals unveiled by the European Commission on Wednesday. The proposal follows weeks of fierce lobbying and counter-lobbying by governments and industry, and though it is more ambitious than expected, it was immediately derided by green groups as lacking teeth. Under the current proposal, EU governments should improve energy efficiency by 30% compared with 2007 levels. But the commission caved in to enormous pressure from Poland, Hungary and others not to make the targets legally binding for now. The Ukraine crisis has turned energy efficiency into a key policy tool as a means of improving energy security and reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and oil imports . It is also a cornerstone of a broader EU plan to tackle climate change by cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2030, compared […]