Rising carbon emissions set energy challenge

Two timelines to curb carbon emissions are emerging — immediate effort to improve energy efficiency at the national level, followed over the next decade by a search for alternative energy sources and a global climate change agreement.

Improving energy efficiency is seen as the easier first step because it actually saves money, and chimes with security concerns to curb dependence on energy imports.

“The cleanest power plant is the one you don’t need to build,” said Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency (IEA), adviser to 26 industrialised nations.
Reuters