Japan, U.S., EU to float energy body

Japan, the United States and the European Union will jointly propose at this year’s Group of Eight summit meeting that an international organization be established to study and evaluate the energy-saving measures of countries, including China and India, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Saturday.

The launch of the organization is part of international efforts to provide emerging large consumers of energy with developed countries’ advanced energy-saving know-how, and study the effectiveness of such measures. Consequently, this may have some influence on discussions to formulate a framework for measures to combat global warming in the post-Kyoto Protocol era.
According to sources, the new body will develop indicators for energy conservation based on measures introduced by developed countries relating to the amount of energy consumed by vehicles, home appliances and the industrial sector.

By employing these indicators, the organization will analyze measures adopted by G-8 and IEA member nations, China, India and other countries, and encourage countries to take further steps where necessary. The new institution also will study the effects of the suggested measures after their implementation. As such, the new entity is expected to act as a kind of international command center in the fight against global warming.

The IEA estimates that about 45 percent of the increase in global primary energy demands through 2030 will come from China and India.

Daily Yomiuri