Why energy efficiency is the unsung hero of the fight against climate change

-Decarbonization requires renewable energy, electrification and energy efficiency.

-Energy efficiency is harder to visualize, measure, aggregate, incentivize or legislate – but the impact would be immense.

-We already have technologies available to help us use less energy – now, we need a framework.

 
The August report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was devastatingly clear. Released as wildfires were tearing through Greece, California and Siberia, it provided a reality check that climate change is “widespread, rapid, and intensifying”.

Grim as the situation is, though, there is a silver lining: we know what’s causing climate change. We know that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the best way to slow it. And we already have plenty of levers with which to curb those emissions.

In other words, it’s not a case of starting from scratch and inventing the decarbonization wheel. Instead, it’s about revving up existing approaches and technologies – including ones whose potential is still widely under-appreciated.

In simple terms, there are three main pieces to the decarbonization puzzle: renewable energy, electrification and energy efficiency.

Συνέχεια εδώ

Πηγή: weforum.org