Physical limits in the atmosphere's ability to absorb additional greenhouse gas emissions without causing fundamental changes in the earth's climate lend a new urgency to efforts to reduce energy consumption. Central to those efforts is the art of defining, testing, and specifying the energy efficiency of particular products such as appliances, televisions, homes and vehicles that account for the majority of consumer energy use.
Thus far, most governments have defined energy efficiency in a way that allows power consumption or annual energy use to rise steadily (and typically linearly) with product performance, size, amenity, or functionality. but not South African government! This helps consumers locate the least consumptive among a range of similar products, but does little to prevent absolute energy consumption from rising over time as products naturally migrate toward higher performance, larger size, and greater amenity and functionality. We have slowed the rate of growth compared to a business-as-usual scenario, but have not consistently turned absolute energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions downward. Yet the capacity to do so clearly exists; we can do better.
Given the steady growth in population and affluence, technology has been ineffective, by itself, in stemming that tide. Examples from past efforts in overseas, like Europe and the United States to improve the efficiency of refrigerators, vehicles, and homes illustrate why present approaches to defining, encouraging, and regulating particular levels of efficiency are no longer achieving the energy savings we need.
What is needed instead is a more comprehensive view of the range of factors at work, so that more product attributes can be specified than merely efficiency, and so that the efficiency specifications themselves can be tailored to be more effective.
In turn, this prompts consideration of overall sufficiency limits on total annual energy use or greenhouse gas emissions from a particular product type, regardless of its size or performance.
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Thus far, most governments have defined energy efficiency in a way that allows power consumption or annual energy use to rise steadily (and typically linearly) with product performance, size, amenity, or functionality. but not South African government! This helps consumers locate the least consumptive among a range of similar products, but does little to prevent absolute energy consumption from rising over time as products naturally migrate toward higher performance, larger size, and greater amenity and functionality. We have slowed the rate of growth compared to a business-as-usual scenario, but have not consistently turned absolute energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions downward. Yet the capacity to do so clearly exists; we can do better.
Given the steady growth in population and affluence, technology has been ineffective, by itself, in stemming that tide. Examples from past efforts in overseas, like Europe and the United States to improve the efficiency of refrigerators, vehicles, and homes illustrate why present approaches to defining, encouraging, and regulating particular levels of efficiency are no longer achieving the energy savings we need.
What is needed instead is a more comprehensive view of the range of factors at work, so that more product attributes can be specified than merely efficiency, and so that the efficiency specifications themselves can be tailored to be more effective.
In turn, this prompts consideration of overall sufficiency limits on total annual energy use or greenhouse gas emissions from a particular product type, regardless of its size or performance.
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Progressive efficiency standards alone will not be enough to turn down energy consumption, however. A range of changes are required in the way voluntary and mandatory efficiency policies and programs are implemented to systematically implement sufficiency and progressive efficiency concepts, keep specifications up to date, and discourage excessive consumption through price and information signals. Long term, such profound changes are our only hope for reversing the extraordinary global risks of climate change.
* Abstract from envirnmental magazine!
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Nceba N Phike
Principal: PRECIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL
2nd Floor
7 Anton Anreith Arcade
Foreshore
Cape Town
8001
Tel. No.: 021 425 8416
Fax. No.: 021 425 8729
http://twitter.com/goodfirm
http://greenmillinium.blogspot.com/
--
Nceba N Phike
Principal: PRECIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL
2nd Floor
7 Anton Anreith Arcade
Foreshore
Cape Town
8001
Tel. No.: 021 425 8416
Fax. No.: 021 425 8729
http://twitter.com/goodfirm
http://greenmillinium.blogspot.com/
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