Will April be “the cruellest month”?

The British poet, T.S. Eliot, in his poem “The Wasteland” called April the “cruellest month.” Thirteen months after the publication of the Commission’s Energy Efficiency Plan and ten months after its publication of the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive, April is turning into crunch time. The Council (represented by Denmark as President), the European Parliament and … Continue reading Will April be “the cruellest month”? →

Energy efficiency laws in Russia – starting the journey

With high potential, Russia has much to do to improve its energy efficiency in all sectors. Rod Janssen of EiD has worked in many parts of Russia and knows first hand the problems that the country faces. This is an excellent article from the Moscow Times giving an overview of the policies and the challenges … Continue reading Energy efficiency laws in Russia – starting the journey →

Why are few Singaporeans going ‘green’?

This is a question that many if not most countries should be asking. This is a good article from the Straits Times of Singapore showing the behavioural studies that Singapore is undertaking to understand more about consumer behaviour. Interestingly, the International Energy Agency’s Implementing Agreement on Demand Side Management has a new focus on behavioural … Continue reading Why are few Singaporeans going ‘green’? →

Question of the week

Reuter’s news agency reports that of Romania’s 19 million population, less than five million are workers paying taxes, with most of the rest pensioners, children, subsistence farmers or people working illegally. Costs for the more than five million pensioners amounted to 9% of GDP in 2010. Also, Romania, the EU’s second-poorest member with an average … Continue reading Question of the week →

Hannover Fair to host roundtable on financing energy efficiency in industry

Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EEIP), a Brussels-based independent not-for-profit platform for business and policy in Europe, is organising a roundtable to discuss financing issues related to investing in energy efficiency in the industrial sector on April 24th at the world famous Hannover Messe, which is billed as the world’s most important technology event. The … Continue reading Hannover Fair to host roundtable on financing energy efficiency in industry →

Energy efficiency: Siemens launches a centre of excellence in France

Siemens recently announced the planned launch on May 1 of a centre of excellence for energy efficiency in France. It will be a combination dedicated website and call centre, with the aim of helping manufacturers in their efforts to improve their energy efficiency. While customers have the product catalogue on energy efficient products, the company … Continue reading Energy efficiency: Siemens launches a centre of excellence in France →

Small businesses ‘must do more to be energy efficient’

Fiona Harvey of the Guardian writes an important article on March 30th about the vice president of the European Commission warning companies after analysis of how their impact affects targets. EiD readers should also follow the link below to the important Eurobarometer survey that was just published. Small businesses 'must do more to be energy … Continue reading Small businesses ‘must do more to be energy efficient’ →

Housing project becomes a beacon

This is a very good article from the New York Times about a housing project about a 15 minute walk from the EiD office. The results on energy performance are good and can probably even be better. But they show that important upgrades can be made to public housing. Hopefully this "beacon" will inspire changes … Continue reading Housing project becomes a beacon →

China making significant progress in building energy code compliance

A new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Global Buildings Performance Network, published mid March, shows that compliance on building codes in China has been steadily improving since 2005. "The significant improvement is rooted in strong governmental regulatory support; clear rules about the responsibilities of key stakeholders and penalties for … Continue reading China making significant progress in building energy code compliance →

Consumer energy bills rise dramatically since 2001 in UK

Newspaper reports show that, according to official figures, average household consumption of gas and electricity fell by 11.3% between 2001 and 2011 as people tried to protect themselves against spiralling prices. Despite this reduction in use, the amount families, pensioners and others spent on keeping warm rose by 23.5%, according to the Office of National … Continue reading Consumer energy bills rise dramatically since 2001 in UK →