UN LEADER CALLS FOR MANDATORY EFFICIENCY

In the absence of more meaningful action due to the reluctance of the US, China and India to participate, energy efficiency measures will buy some time. But mandatory measures are not the only possibility. A voluntary cooperative program between China and the US was reported by NewEnergyNews yesterday: CHINA,
US TO WORK TOGETHER ON EFFICIENCY

Make energy-efficient technology mandatory, UN expert says
September 11, 2007 (AFP)

WHO
Marcel Alers, UN Development Programme (UNDP)

IEA caluclations of CO2 production: Note that efficiencies make all the difference. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Alers, an expert on climate change and energy issues, called for mandatory efficiency requirements to be implemented by governments around the world.

WHEN
- Alers comments came at a planning session of the UN Climate Change Panel that will meet in December in Bali, Indonesia, to set a framework for the post-2012 phase of world climate change action.
- Alers observed that EU mandatory standards on refrigerators have “transformed” the European market in 10 years and called for similar measures.

WHERE
- Recognizing the UN’s limits, Alers called for individual governments to implement mandatory standards and labels worldwide.
- Alers also recognized developing countries inevitable reliance on coal.

WHY
Because of the inevitable use of coal by developing economies, Alers called for the perfection and implementation of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology.

Lawrence Berkeley Nat'l Labs statistics on appliance ownership in China. And, like much of the rest of the world, China will get most of the electricity to play with all these new toys from coal. Efficiency isn't just a good idea, it's a desperately necessary one. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Alers: "Most of the technology needed to achieve significant reduction of greenhouse gases actually exists, doesn't have to be invented and actually is competitive commercially…The experts in this area will all tell you that voluntary is nice but if you want impact, it has to be mandatory ... And these things do not cost a lot of money…"
- Alers: "Energy efficiency and energy conservation provides the most cost-effective means of achieving emission reduction targets…"
- Alers: "It's just a fantasy to believe that we can just continue development over the next century without the use of coal. It's simply not going to happen…Coal and other fossil fuels will remain a very important part of the energy mix of all countries so we will have to find ways of dealing with that. That has to be part of the solution…"