The United States District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the Department of Energy's decision to remove the ENERGY STAR® label from certain inefficient LG refrigerator-freezer models. As part of its expanded energy efficient enforcement efforts, DOE had taken steps over the past few months to remove the label from these products, which independent testing had shown were consuming significantly more energy than allowed by the ENERGY STAR® program.

"The Court has affirmed our efforts to protect consumers and the environment through robust enforcement of our energy efficiency regulations and the ENERGY STAR® program," said Department of Energy General Counsel Scott Blake Harris. "Enhanced energy efficiency is a national priority, and DOE will continue to take aggressive action to ensure manufacturers deliver the energy and cost savings promised to American consumers."

EU Member States supported new rules to improve the energy performance of several products at the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulatory Committee meeting. The package sets mandatory energy performance requirements and creates an upgraded energy labelling system for televisions and 'white goods'. These new measures are expected to cut the EU's electricity consumption by 51 terawatt hours by 2020, which corresponds to the combined annual electricity consumption of Portugal and Latvia.

"This package of ecodesign and energy labelling measures is a crucial contribution to achieve our energy efficiency goals. I am particularly pleased with the new energy label, which is very clear for consumers, accelerates the race for top efficient products, and boosts market transformation and energy savings", said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.