by Shane Henson — July 25, 2012—According to an energy-efficiency ranking of the world’s major economies conducted by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the United States is lagging behind most of the other countries.
The ranking and complementary report, titled ACEEE International Energy Efficiency Scorecard, are modeled on ACEEE’s approach to energy efficiency ranking of U.S. states, and include 12 of the world’s largest economies: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. These 12 economies represent more than 78% of global gross domestic product; 63% of global energy consumption; and 62% of the global carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions, says ACEEE.
On a scale of 100 possible points in 27 categories, the nations were ranked by ACEEE as follows: (1) the United Kingdom; (2) Germany; (3) Italy; (4) Japan; (5) France; (6) the European Union, Australia, and China (3-way tie); (9) the United States; (10) Brazil; (11) Canada; and (12) Russia.
ACEEE says it divided the 27 metrics across four groupings: those that track cross-cutting aspects of energy use at the national level, as well as the three sectors primarily responsible for energy consumption in an economically developed country—buildings, industry, and transportation. The top-scoring countries in each grouping were: Germany (national efforts); China (buildings); the United Kingdom (industry); and a tie among Italy, China, Germany, and the United Kingdom (transportation).
The ACEEE ranking system looks at both “policy metrics” and “performance metrics” to measure a country’s overall energy efficiency. Examples of policy metrics include the presence of a national energy-savings target, fuel economy standards for vehicles, and energy-efficiency standards for appliances. The “performance metrics” measure energy use and provide quantifiable results. Examples of performance metrics include the amount of energy consumed by a country relative to its gross domestic product, average miles per gallon of on-road passenger vehicles, and energy consumed per square foot of floor space in residential buildings, says ACEEE.
Beyond just ranking the major economies, the ACEEE report provides recommendations for improvement as well. Those specifically for the United States are:
- A national energy-savings target. Congress should pass a national energy savings target to complement existing state policies and raise the bar for all states.
- Efficiency in manufacturing. Manufacturers should commit to continual improvement in energy efficiency by using Superior Energy Performance ISO 50001 (ISO 2011) and other voluntary platforms.
- Financial incentives. States and the federal government should implement improved financial incentives, such as tax credits, loans, and loan-loss reserves, to spur private investment in energy efficiency.
- Investment in research and development. Greatly increased research and development (R&D) investment is needed to develop new technologies and practices that support energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy.
- Efficient power plants. Government policies should be adopted that encourage utilities to retire old, inefficient power plants and ensure that any new power plants are highly efficient.
- Output-based emissions standards. These standards should be employed to encourage the use of the most efficient generation technologies.
- Efficient power distribution. Electric grid infrastructure should be modernized to reduce line losses. Utilities should deploy high-efficiency distribution transformers, increased utilization of distributed energy sources, and advanced “smart grid” techniques to reduce transmission and distribution losses.
- Building codes. All states should use the most recent and stringent building code standards.
- Appliance standards. Federal and state governments should implement and enforce existing appliance standards, regularly update these standards, and develop standards for additional products (e.g., pumps).
- Combined heat and power. Governments and regulators should adopt policies that allow combined heat and power to obtain reasonable electricity buyback and backup power rates.
- Vehicle miles traveled. The United States should reconsider the pricing of transportation, and facilitate the adoption of policies such as “pay-as-you-drive” insurance, in which the cost is determined primarily by the number of miles traveled.
- Public transit. National funding should be increased for public transit, freight rail, and non-motorized modes of transportation.
- Fuel economy for passenger vehicles. The federal government should adopt the proposed increases in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which would result in average fuel economy of 49.6 miles per gallon in 2025.
- Fuel economy for heavy-duty vehicles. The federal government should adopt substantially higher standards for heavy-duty vehicle fuel efficiency for 2025.
