In further news related to the European Commission this week, consultancy Agora Energiewende and the German research centre Oeko Institut have suggested that the European Union could technically achieve a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels. The finding comes a month before the EC is to propose a more stringent target compared to the current 40% target, with Nordic and Western European countries generally being in favour of something between 50-55% and Eastern European countries wishing to see a cost analysis before agreeing to deeper cuts. According to the analysis, to meet such a target the EC would need to cut available permits in the European Emissions Trading System such that they were 61% fewer in 2030 than in 2005, instead of the currently scheduled 43% reduction, which, because it is already 2020, would mean that the number of permits would have to fall by 5.4% each year until 2030, rather than the scheduled 2.2% annual fall. While the percentages seem small, this would in effect be cutting them more than twice as fast as previously planned, which would mean swift action on the part of polluters – which is exactly what many wish.