TOPS AND FLOPS OF ENERGY EFFICIENT NATIONS

ACEEE: United Kingdom Tops in Energy Efficiency, U.S. Lags in 9th Place; First International Energy Efficiency Scorecard of 12 Major Economies Also Finds Germany, Italy, and Japan Ranking Highly; U.S. Behind Most Countries, Including China, France, and Australia.

July 12, 2012 (American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy)

“The United Kingdom comes in first in a new energy efficiency ranking of the world's major economies, followed closely by Germany, Italy, and Japan according to the first-ever International Energy Efficiency Scorecard…[from] the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)….[T]he U.S….[was ranked] in 9th place out of 12 economies…[that] represent over 78 percent of global gross domestic product; 63 percent of global energy consumption; and 62 percent of the global carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions.

“…[T]he nations were ranked by ACEEE as follows: (1) the United Kingdom; (2) Germany; (3) Italy; (4) Japan; (5) France; (6) the European Union, Australia, and China (3-way tie); (9) the U.S.; (10) Brazil; (11) Canada; and (12) Russia…ACEEE divided the 27 metrics across four groupings…cross-cutting aspects of energy use at the national level, as well as…[in] buildings, industry, and transportation…”

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“The ACEEE ranking system looks at both…[policy and performance and] raises a critical question: How can the United States compete in a global economy if it continues to waste money and energy that other industrialized nations save and can reinvest? The new report outlines a number of recommendations for the United States such as:

“A national energy savings target…Efficiency in manufacturing…Financial incentives…to spur private investment in energy efficiency…Investment in research and development…Efficient power plants…Output-based emissions standards…Efficient power distribution…Building codes [standards]…Appliance standards…[P] olicies that allow combined heat and power (CHP) to obtain reasonable electricity buyback…Vehicle miles traveled [pricing]…Public transit…Fuel economy for passenger vehicles…[and] heavy-duty vehicles…”

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