It all started in Krakow, Poland. The medieval city is known for its beauty, but also for poor air quality from coal heating. In 2012, a group of local residents joined together and founded the organisation Krakow Smog Alert to push for change — and the campaign got results. In 2013, the city approved a law…
Europe is racing to meet ambitious 2030 and 2050 climate goals but is still stumbling over one of the foundation stones of a cost-effective clean energy transition—investments in end-use energy efficiency. While this month’s “yellow vest” protests in France are not focused on the emissions trading system (ETS), they are a striking reminder of how…
“If your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail,” goes the saying. In the context of climate policy, the leading hammer is carbon pricing. To many economists and carbon market enthusiasts, putting a price on carbon is by far the preferred tool to drive down carbon pollution. So, whenever carbon prices…
Small, coal-fired district heating systems are a major source of air pollution in Poland. Applying EU regulations would go some way toward solving this problem, write Edith Bayer and Richard Cowart of global energy policy advisors Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), but more needs to be done. Bayer and Cowart draw four lessons from a new…
The idea of “Efficiency First” is on the line in ongoing EU talks. Member States must realise that this is no mere slogan but a real necessity, write Dr. Jan Rosenow, Richard Cowart, and Edith Bayer. According to a leaked document from the Council of the European Union, some members of the Council are resisting…
The UK government’s new Clean Growth Strategy gives quite a lot of priority to energy efficiency. That’s good news, write Jan Rosenow and Richard Cowart. What’s needed next is to develop the policies that actually deliver the goods. This can be done by following the principle of Efficiency First. The Clean Growth Strategy, launched by the UK government…
Saving energy saves money, improves security, lowers emissions, and makes it easier to meet renewable energy and climate goals. That’s why energy efficiency is the sensible foundation for the Energy Union and the 2030 Clean Energy Package now under review: deeper savings make the rest of the goals so much easier to achieve. They will…
Will Brexit put energy efficiency progress in the UK at risk, ask Jan Rosenow and Richard Cowart of RAP and Pedro Guertler of the Association for the Conservation of Energy? In electric appliances and heating systems—probably not. The biggest risk is in the building sector. UK policymakers will need to put efficiency first if they…
The United Kingdom was once a world leader in energy savings. We proved that investing in buildings, insulating lofts, and switching to efficient boilers, motors, and lighting created jobs, saved money, and lowered the environmental costs of energy systems. But in recent years we have turned our back on our own evidence, reducing the breadth…
In recent years across the UK, citizens, government, and the business community have all demonstrated a willingness to lead the world in the fight against climate change. So the mystery today is: Why is the UK walking away from energy efficiency, the most effective and least-cost way of reducing carbon emissions? We certainly know better….
