IEA: Energy efficiency gains must double to limit warming
Countries need to double their energy efficiency gains to achieve the emissions reductions required to follow the 2015 Paris climate agreement and to avoid the worst impacts from global warming, according to a report Wednesday by the International Energy Agency.
The IEA analysis shows average gains in energy efficiency must reach 4 percent per year between now and 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The report, released a day before the start of the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, notes that many developed countries have significantly brought down their energy use in recent years and urges more rapid action.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: energy efficiency
The energy price spikes of the 1970s drove consumers, businesses and government to calculate opportunities for energy efficiency — investments, practices, and regulations to avoid some of the energy costs associated with particular products or services. Those calculations ran counter to a lot of engrained practices, and the friction between business and government is a feature of energy and environment policy discussions. Now, energy efficiency decisions — whether involving building practices, appliance efficiency, or vehicle mileage and emissions standards — are a complex mix of government regulation and market behavior.