Building roads and airport terminals creates jobs. The problem with Energy Effiency is that it is still percieved simply as a means to restrain consumption, which doesn't fit in the current economic thinking.

Andris Piebalgs seems to be one of the polititians that has already made the leap from that way of thiking.

It also stimulates demand. When expanding an existing road it will ease the journey and reduce the time and in many places then more people will use their car to make the journey which they previously would not have made for example, driving further for jobs.