In Brussels, they never really understood why the Europeans were so opposed to the ban on the traditional lightbulb.
"We only meant well" is still the motto today, years after their end.
After all, not only does the climate benefit when the European Commission sets minimum requirements for energy consumption on the basis of the "Ecodesign Directive" and thus pulls energy wasters like light bulbs out of circulation.
Consumers also saved money.
So the EU authority went ahead.
Today there are specifications for 50 electrical products, from kettles to WLAN routers to vacuum cleaners.
So it was only a matter of time before Brussels took on other products.
Finally, the production and use of building materials or textiles can also harm the environment and the climate.
This is partly due to the fact that many devices no longer last as long as they used to.
It is also a nuisance that companies like Otto or Amazon destroy returned products and textiles.
The Commission therefore now wants to extend the Ecodesign Directive to virtually all products.
In addition, she not only wants to make specifications for energy consumption, but also for repairability, durability, recyclability, the proportion of recycled primary products, hazardous ingredients or the CO2 footprint.
And because she is on the move in her dirigiste overzealousness, she immediately proclaims the end of "fast fashion".
By 2030 at the latest, Europeans should only dress “sustainably” and do without short, fashionable and inexpensive “fast fashion”.
These are exactly the small-scale interventions in everyday and economic life for which the term "eco-dictatorship" was established in the past.
These are precisely the small-scale interventions that are superfluous if CO2 emissions are priced, as is done through emissions trading.
This means that the individual has enough incentive to reduce emissions even without a planned economy.
The high raw material prices do the rest to limit the waste of raw materials.
No, the Commission actually did not get it.