Every cloud has a silver lining
Governments and society at large can no longer afford to ‘blow hot and cold’ on environmental and energy-related issues. The 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris has identified energy efficiency as a key environmental and economic response to the pressing climate challenges our world is facing.
The efforts of the COP21 are expected to be the highlight of a global process that has been running since Rio 1992 and has gone through ups and downs, starting with the difficulties in ratifying the 1997 Kyoto protocol and continuing with the ‘wishy-washy’ results of the Copenhagen summit. This latter forged some commitments on emissions reduction, but the outcomes proved to be weak, elusive and falling short of initial expectations.
However, things are different now. Leaders have shown a serious commitment to produce a new global agreement on global warming in Paris, which most of all should not repeat the mistakes that resulted from the climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009.
The clock is ticking on stopping irreversible consequences of climate change. Rates of deforestation and floods occurrence are increasing at a fast pace, the number of environmental refugees is rising and rates of industrialization are predicted to continue increasing within the next few decades at levels incompatible with those required to stabilize concentrations of GHG safely in the atmosphere. These are just few of the many structural problems in the offing, calling for immediate action across all levels and sectors of the economy.
In this context, having an internationally binding treaty is simply not sufficient and needs to be supported by concrete actions at a country- and individual-level.
Among the numerous measures that can be adopted immediately to limit carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change, energy efficiency represents one of the most prominent and promising. As highlighted in the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), improvements in energy efficiency are one of the most important instruments for combating climate change and reducing GHG emissions.
At a large scale, this means introducing energy efficiency as the main factor in making investment decisions about energy-related projects. In this regard, financial institutions, such as banks, leasing companies and microfinance institutions have a key role in integrating energy efficiency finance into their operations, guide clients towards enhanced energy saving and ultimately channel and track investments in the sector.
At the individual level, there two key ways of saving energy. Firstly, better consumption choices and habits, which include optimising domestic water use (i.e. taking a shower instead of a bath), minimising appliances running costs (i.e. switch off and unplug electrical appliances when not using them); as well as shifting reliance from personal cars to greener modes of transportation (i.e. cycling, walking, and car sharing programmes). Secondly, favouring alternative technologies, such as using low-carbon fuelled vehicles (namely through electricity, hydrogen and biofuels), choosing more efficient and electric house appliances (i.e. LED lighting electric induction cooktops) and boilers (i.e. electric water heaters); and better insulation solutions.
However, market forces alone will unlikely be able to deliver an organic and optimal transition to energy efficient solutions. Improving energy efficiency can indeed deliver a range of benefits to the economy and society as a whole. Energy efficiency technologies are often evaluated only on the basis of the energy savings they deliver, which commonly appear with time. As a result, energy efficient technologies are difficult to apprehend and integrate in investment decisions at infrastructure and individual level and their full value in both national and global economies may be significantly underestimated. In light of this, if global aspirations ought to be achieved in the required timeframe, policy interventions are required. Policy makers need to boost societies’ behavioural changes which are essential to drive and stimulate the shift towards energy efficient solutions.
There will always be a demand for energy, but the way we use it, and the amount we use, needs to radically change.
Elisa Asmelash, Junior Energy Consultant, Brussels @ Revelle Group
