Brussels, 03/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - A European Commission study published on Friday 30 October stresses the immense potential for energy savings at global level if energy efficiency rules and eco-design product standards were harmonised across the globe.
According to this study, global energy efficiency and eco-design measures could rub between €280 and €410 billion off the global energy bill by 2030, equivalent to nearly twice the annual electricity consumption of the United States.
Up to 7,600 TW hours of electricity could be saved between now and 2030, a reduction of 13% on the current scenario. At the same time, 4,450 million tonnes of carbon emissions would be avoided, or 7% of global carbon emissions estimated for 2030. This would equate to the carbon emissions of 1,170 coal-fired power stations, or more than all of the EU's total carbon emissions in 2012.
Today, energy efficiency standards are applied for at least one product by more than 70 countries in the world and work to harmonise energy efficiency standards across the world is in its early stages, the study stresses. The EU has a very developed set of energy efficiency and eco-design rules covering a wide range of products and which aims to make 20% in energy savings by 2020, rising to at least 27% by 2030.
The study also found that global energy efficiency standards could create between 1.7 and 2.5 million extra jobs by 2030 in the manufacturing sector. Some jobs will be lost in the energy sector, but this sector has a relatively low rate of jobs per unit of turnover compared to the wider economy, the study points out.
The study also notes that the EU would be well placed to benefit from global energy efficiency measures, due to its leading position on energy efficiency.
The study, which is entitled Savings and benefits of global regulations for energy efficient products, is available at: https://goo.gl/fiDDJ6 . (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)