Category: national policies

Quote of the week: the lack of energy efficiency in the UK is “completely bonkers”

The boss of a British technology firm has described the UK’s lack of energy efficiency as "completely bonkers" and has called on the Government to focus more on power conservation rather than new energy generation projects. Drew Nelson, chief executive of IQE, the compound semiconductor maker, told the Financial Times that the UK was "pouring … Continue reading Quote of the week: the lack of energy efficiency in the UK is “completely bonkers” →

Paris pushes innovative solutions

The City of Paris announced this week that it had associated with the Paris Region Innovation Lab and the Paris Climate Agency to launch a call for projects dedicated to energy efficiency and to experiment with innovative solutions. "Many real estate players (museums, social landlords, businesses, public institutions) have already given their approval for a … Continue reading Paris pushes innovative solutions →

Neither sermons nor silence

The Green Alliance in the UK has published a valuable report entitled “Neither sermons nor silence - the case for national communications on energy use”. The report examines previous Government-led national communication campaigns, including "Act on CO2" and argues that they lacked enabling policy to underpin them. There are behavioural barriers to uptake and the … Continue reading Neither sermons nor silence →

Renewable energy can supply 40 % of demand in Ireland

This is a very good article on the renewable scene in Ireland from the Irish Independent newspaper   Renewable energy can supply 40 % of demand By Peter Flanagan Tuesday May 29 2012 IRELAND could get almost half of its energy from renewable sources and eventually become a net exporter of energy under plans revealed … Continue reading Renewable energy can supply 40 % of demand in Ireland →

Discussing Germany’s nuclear exit

This is an important article by Damian Carrington of the Guardian on the costs of Germany’s phase out of nuclear.  This is important because there is so much mis-information around. For all countries, watching this “experiment” in Germany and learning lessons from it will be essential.  There is a need for more than just a … Continue reading Discussing Germany’s nuclear exit →

Geneva: owners required to improve energy efficiency

In Geneva, the results of an aerial thermography targeting all the cantonal territory roofs are available on the Internet. Homeowners can benefit from expert advice for data interpretation and diagnosis of their building energy. "More than 35,000 buildings consume half the energy used in the township," said Isabel Friday Rochat, head of the Department of … Continue reading Geneva: owners required to improve energy efficiency →

Balancing the promotion of sustainable energy with government revenue

While this article by Gwyn Topham from the Guardian is on the UK, it is an important issue for all countries.  Governments are caught between promoting sustainable energy and taxes they gain from “conventional” practices.   Green cars will lead to fall in motoring revenue for Treasury, says study The drive to promote greener, more … Continue reading Balancing the promotion of sustainable energy with government revenue →

Air conditioning in India

An interesting article published by the Times of India says that India has become more active in establishing minimum energy performance standards and appliance labelling.  This article states that 12% of products labelled for energy efficiency fail the tests.  How that compares to Europe or the US, I cannot say.  Interestingly, the article notes that … Continue reading Air conditioning in India →

Planning to bike around Paris on your holiday?

Amazing what you learn.  Velib’, is the world’s biggest bike sharing programme in the world (according to their website) with over 25,000 bicycles available.  Velib’ is great for tourists to manoeuvre around the City of Light.  Interestingly, EiD has just learned that there is now an iPhone app that allows you to find where the … Continue reading Planning to bike around Paris on your holiday? →