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 →

Carbon footprints of hotels

If you want to shrink your carbon footprint when you check into a hotel, you may be better off staying at a mid-range or budget chain hotel. That's the conclusion from a report released by Brighter Planet, the eco-minded tech firm in Vermont that creates digital apps and other technology to measure environmental effects. The … Continue reading Carbon footprints of hotels →

New energy efficiency organisation launches in the UK

A new not-for-profit organisation the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Buildings (EEPB) has been launched in the UK. It replaces the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, which traditionally did a lot of work with local authorities, housing associations and charities, particularly in regards to fuel poverty. The EEPB’s objectives include the development of industry-agreed solutions to barriers … Continue reading New energy efficiency organisation launches in the UK →

New study on the macroeconomic benefits of energy efficiency

The report, ‘The Macroeconomic Benefits of Energy efficiency: The case for public action’ by E3G, an independent not-for-profit organisation in the UK, argues the current UK and wider European focus on austerity combined with structural reforms will not be enough to drive economic recovery in the short term. A second round of stimulus packages looks … Continue reading New study on the macroeconomic benefits of energy efficiency →

New study related to energy efficiency obligations

At a time of heated debate around the merits of energy efficiency obligations within the draft Energy Efficiency Directive, a new report by the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) and eceee “Determining Energy Savings for Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes” provides a no-nonsense set of guidelines for determining energy savings under such schemes. Based on a detailed … Continue reading New study related to energy efficiency obligations →

French partnership between construction economists and Electricité de France

The National Union of Economists of the Construction Industry in France and EDF signed a partnership to contribute jointly to improving the energy performance of buildings. Economists accompany construction projects to renovate buildings, to optimise cost, quality and timeliness of design and production operations. Guarantors of budget estimates, they work with builders or contractors to … Continue reading French partnership between construction economists and Electricité de France →

All the world’s a stage but efficiency, efficiency, wherefore art thou . . .

This is an interesting article from The Stage website in the UK showing that the size of a theatre has no bearing on its efficiency. The organisation referred to in the article, Julie’s Bicycle, makes environmental sustainability intrinsic to the business, art and ethics of music, theatre and the creative industries. Research finds energy efficiency … Continue reading All the world’s a stage but efficiency, efficiency, wherefore art thou . . . →

From the Clean Energy Ministerial

The third Clean Energy Ministerial of 23 leading countries was held in London late April. Leaders from the 23-government Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4All) have given their backing to a renewed push to increase energy efficiency worldwide. Meeting at the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM3) taking place … Continue reading From the Clean Energy Ministerial →

Follow up on Russian energy conservation policies

Following the EID post of April 16th, there has recently been an important all-Russia conference on energy conservation. The following is from the Russian Business News. Particularly note the comment on financing energy conservation by the first vice president of Gazprombank that the government is only prepared to allocate 7 % of needed funds with … Continue reading Follow up on Russian energy conservation policies →