Energy Conservation & Efficiency
Energy consumption (primarily through electricity generation and transportation) is currently the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, reducing energy demand through conservation and efficiency offers one of the highest impact and least costly approaches to climate change mitigation. The opportunities in this area also represent some of the clearest paths to broad collaboration between governments, industries, and consumers. Many of these approaches involve getting more energy out of conventional technologies and addressing market distortions that inhibit greater energy efficiency. An example of a market distortion that can inhibit greater energy efficiency and conservation is a subsidy on electricity, which gives end-users less incentive to conserve and be efficient. Some solutions that address how much energy we demand are noted below; for more discussion, refer to the Conservation discussion topic on willyoujoinus.com.
Residential and Consumer Use
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Building codes for residential and commercial building changes: Improved energy efficiency in buildings, industry and transport could lead to between 17 and 33 percent lower energy use by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.
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Road transportation: In order to reduce emissions from transport, vehicle manufacturers must continue to produce cleaner and more fuel efficient cars, such as diesels and hybrids. Advanced batteries for hybrids such as metal hydride batteries and lithium-ion batteries are currently being refined. There is also active research on whether biofuels (which are transportation fuels produced from biomass) can play a part of the transportation energy portfolio as a potential low-carbon energy source. Some researchers are examining how biofuels and fossil fuels compare in terms of total emissions from the lifecycle of their production, refining, transport and use.
Another approach to reducing emissions associated with road transport is to raise the fuel efficiency of vehicles. The average CO2 emissions rate from new vehicles in the United States fell 3 percent from 2004 to 2005; it remained up a net 1.5 percent since 1990. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards have been the primary policy instrument for improving car and light-truck fuel economy in the United States over the last three decades. In 2007, the CAFÉ standards were tightened.
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Individual behavior change: Individuals can change simple behaviors – such as unplugging computers at night, keeping vehicle tires properly inflated, and adjusting thermostats – and have a significant impact on their personal carbon emissions "footprint". Visit Chevron’s Energy Generator to see what actions you can take to be more energy efficient.
Industrial Use
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Industrial processes: Improving the efficiency of industrial processes with existing technologies and processes offers an opportunity for emissions reductions in the steel, pulp, paper, food processing, cement, chemicals and refining industries. In the US steel industry, for example, expanding cogeneration and use of recuperative burners would allow mills to reduce energy demand by 30%. Many other efficiency opportunities in this area are underway or are being studied.
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Business strategies: Large corporations and small businesses continue to develop strategies to reduce their emissions. Many businesses are realizing direct financial benefits from voluntary emissions reductions and energy savings initiatives. For example, from 2001 through 2005, "Procter & Gamble’s factory in Germany increased production by 45 percent, but the energy needed to run machines and to heat, cool and ventilate buildings rose by only 12 percent, and carbon emissions remained at the 2001 level." Corporate strategies for reducing emissions focus on energy efficiency, emissions offsets, renewable energy sourcing and supporting flexible policies.
Correcting Policies to Encourage Efficiency
Efforts to curb energy usage and improve energy efficiency are highly dependent on public policies that provide incentives for efficiency and that reduce market distortions that facilitate wasteful energy use. Many countries have market-distorting policies such as subsidies on fuel and electricity, a lack of metering for the electricity and/or gas used in homes, and subsidies for state-owned enterprises: 20 percent of global energy demand is supplied with energy that is subsidized or priced in a non-marginal way. With the price of energy lower than it should be, businesses and individuals have less incentive to conserve.
Furthermore, some countries offer industry-specific financial incentives for construction and electricity generation and distribution businesses. Mechanisms such as building codes are one means to encourage greater industry-wide energy efficiency. While the right energy efficiency policies are likely to vary by country and region, policy makers will need to work with consumers and businesses to devise appropriate measures. For example, in the United States, some policy advocates argue that it may make sense to tax gasoline more to encourage consumers to drive less. On the other hand, in countries such as China, it may make more sense to focus policies on high fuel economy standards of new cars since most of the vehicles on the road over the next 15 years will be new. With crude oil and gasoline prices volatile, gasoline taxes and other measures are not without substantial controversy.