OUTLINING PRACTICAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY EXAMPLES

Energy efficiency is one of the quickest and most effective methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. Efficiency makes energy available to people while at the same time reducing the burden on environment and economy and is therefore a fundamental element of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). 

 

In addition, making use of renewable sources of energy such as solar or biofuels can add to the benefits of energy efficiency efforts. The use of renewable energy can enable developing countries to “leapfrog” to clean and sustainable energy solutions and avoid the path of industrial development pursued in the past by the industrialised countries. A modern and intelligent society with an emphasis on SCP is an energy-efficient society.

 

An Integrated Approach towards SCP

The Energy Efficiency Booklet illustrates how energy efficiency can achieved through the use of sound technological alternatives while bearing in mind local culture, lifestyle and personal habits. The booklet presents an integrated, sustainable approach towards SCP and presents issues in a Life Cycle Perspective taking energy consumption  all stages of the product life cycle into consideration.

 

Pick the low hanging fruit: Bridging the Gap towards Sustainable Consumption

A wide range of examples on how to enhance energy efficiency in a variety of different countries, social and economic contexts was compiled. These included both developed and developing countries, rich and the poor, and urban and rural areas. The examples compiled in the booklet provide practical insights into how SCP is being made to happen by using available technology in combination with consumer behaviour. The booklet identifies thirteen representative case studies from around the world including solar cookers, fluorescent lamps, co-generation, and biogas. Emphasis was placed on taking full advantage of local knowledge to increase energy efficiency in buildings, with the Punakha Hospital in Bhutan, which was built with a traditional architectural design that requires no air-conditioning and makes efficient use of natural light conditions.

 

Background

The booklet was developed in cooperation with the Norwegian ForUM for Development and Environment with funding from the Government of Norway. Together with the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, the CSCP conducted background research and drafted the case studies contained in the publication. The booklet was presented at the fourteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-14) at the UN Headquarters in New York on 1-12 May, 2006.