Greenest energy is energy saved

Renewable energy, carbon capture and biofuels are among the main solutions put forward to mitigate climate change. They are valid methods and must be pursued but the truth is that most of the technologies are either not ripe, still too expensive or have unwanted side effects.

There is a quicker, cheaper and more effective way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions that can be applied right now: energy-efficient technologies that are commercially available and proven. Energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit in the campaign to protect the environment because the technologies exist and we know the savings they will deliver.
There are many things that politicians can do. Raise awareness of the financial benefits of energy efficiency. Payback times can be extremely short but many businesses still focus on the purchase price when buying equipment, instead of considering its cost over its entire lifespan. The purchase price of an electric motor, for instance, is just 1% of what the owner will spend on energy to run the equipment over its lifetime.

Create incentives for businesses and local authorities to save energy. The fairest would be a global price on emissions through a trading system. This will take time to achieve and in the meantime national governments can use standards, rules for public procurement or other means to promote energy efficient technologies.

Governments should make energy efficiency a criterion of every project they fund, treaty they negotiate, research agreement they support, school or hospital they build, etc. Others will follow where governments lead.

Economic Times