Kevin Harcourt – Center for Alternative Fuels

By: syntegra
It is obvious to see that energy efficiency is moving up the governments agenda, with the the Prime Minister urging Nations to 'come together and reach agreements that make history' ahead of the December Copenhagen summit. Pressure has increased worldwide to sharpen energy efficiency legislation and create new incentives. However, despite a frequently positive outlook towards energy efficiency and carbon reduction, organisations often lack the expertise necessary to develop new energy policies and implement sustainable schemes.

Furthermore, attitudes are changing worldwide towards energy efficiency. What was once seen as a 'nice to have but not necessary' is becoming mandatory/essential for forward thinking organisations - This is reinforced by the proportional increase in numbers of energy managers in the UK and Worldwide.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that due to the financial and economic environment this has deferred energy investment, and carbon emissions could have fallen in 2009 by as much as 3% - this is steeper than at any point in the last 40 years.

The IEA recently acted to move forward an early release of the climate change work within its Wolrd Energy Outlook(WEO) 2009 in order to make a contribution to the climate change talks in Copenhagen this December 09. In the 2009 WEO forecast for 2020 emission levels are 5% lower than those in the WEO 2008, even in the absence of any additional policies. The report argues that the economic downturn has created an opportunity to stabilise atmospheric concentrations of CO2 equivalent at 450 parts per million (ppm), a level thought necessary by many to keep increases in global temperatures below 2 Degrees C.