International Energy Efficiency Scorecard released
The recently released “International Energy Efficiency Scorecard” by the American Council for an Energy-efficient Economy ranks the world’s largest economies on their energy efficiency policies and programs. The rankings include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.
Each economy is ranked in the report on the basis of an analysis of 31 different energy efficiency indicators. The rankings are determined by scoring out of 100 possible points. Points can be earned in four different categories, including buildings, industry, transportation and national effort, which measures overall or cross-cutting indicators of energy use at the national level.
The result showed that Germany ranked first in energy efficiency and Italy second, followed by the European Union. China and France tied with each other, ranking the fourth. Residential buildings in China consume less energy per square foot than any other country, according to the ACEEE. Commercial buildings have the second-lowest energy consumption per square foot.
The country is home to the world’s largest high-speed rail network, so use of public transportation is high and the number of vehicle miles traveled per person is low. One blight on China’s record is its industrial sector, which ranked second in energy consumption among the 16 economies studied. Spending on energy efficiency research also remains low.
(Source: American Council for an Energy-efficient Economy)
Edited by Bai Le