Zelena knjiga z naslovom "K evropski strategiji za zanesljivost oskrbe z energijo" ugotavlja, da Evropska unija postaja vse bolj odvisna od zunanjih virov energije in da njena odvisnost lahko naraste do 70 % v 20 do 30 letih (v primerjavi s trenutno 50 % odvisnostjo) in zato poudarja potrebo, da se politiko ponudbe uravnava z jasnim ukrepanjem pri politiki povpraševanja ter poziva k dejanski spremembi obnašanja porabnikov zato, da se povpraševanje usmeri k porabi, ki bo bolj gospodarna, učinkovita in okolju prijazna, zlasti na področju prometa in stavb, ter da se pri oskrbi z energijo da prednost razvoju novih in obnovljivih virov, da bi se odzvali na izzive globalnega segrevanja.
The Green Paper entitled "Towards a European Strategy for the Security of Energy Supply" notes that the European Union is becoming increasingly dependent on external energy sources and that its dependence could rise to 70 % in 20 to 30 years' time (compared with 50 % at present) and therefore stresses the need to balance supply policy against clear action for a demand policy and calls for a genuine change in consumers' behaviour so as to orientate demand towards better managed, more efficient and more environmentally friendly consumption, particularly in the transport and building sectors, and to give priority to the development of new and renewable sources on the energy supply side in order to respond to the challenge of global warming.