Hanging Together So We Don't Hang Ourselves

One major impression I took away from the Energy Efficiency Global conference in Paris last month is that Europe is serious about reducing carbon dioxide emissions 80% by 2050. Government agencies throughout the Continent having been rolling out aggressive policies, standards and rating systems to ensure they can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from 13.3 tons/person/year in 2010 to 1.4 tons by 2050 and help stave off the worst ravages of climate change. Here are a few program highlights.

1. 20-20-20 by 2020 - This European Union directive calls for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, an increase to 20% of energy coming from renewable sources, and an increase of energy efficiency by 20% by the year 2020.

2. Net zero energy buildings - By the end of 2018, all new buildings in the European Union will be required to be net zero energy. This means that each building will produce its own energy on-site, has maximized energy efficiency and is offsetting the small amount of greenhouse gases resulting from its operation with local carbon-offset projects. The United Kingdom set its own goal for net zero energy for new homes starting in 2016 and non-domestic buildings starting in 2019. France has a goal of energy positive buildings by 2020, meaning buildings will generate more energy than they use. Germany requires buildings to operate without fossil fuels by 2020.

3. Portugal's building rating system - Portugal's Energy Agency, ADENE, has audited and rated 70,000 buildings on a grading scale from A+ to G. Ultra-efficient buildings that use less than 25% of the standard receive an A+ score. Buildings that use more than 300% of the standard receive the lowest score, a G. Approximately 42% of the buildings audited are above the standard.

According to ADENE program director Alexandre Fernandes, rating a typical apartment takes about one hour for the audit and three to four hours to plan the audit and write up the paperwork. After the audit, building owners receive a list of energy efficiency improvement measures they can do to move up to a higher energy class. This has created competition and yielded improvements. If you read Spanish or Portuguese, you can visit ADENE to learn more about the program.

4. Ireland's vehicle registration fees based on CO2 emissions - In July 2008, Ireland changed its vehicle registration tax so that vehicles that emit a relatively high amount of carbon dioxide pay higher fees than less polluting vehicles. The fee structure climbs rapidly from 104 euros (about $138) for vehicles that emit 0-120g CO2/kilometer up to 2,100 euros (about $2,800) for 225 grams of CO2/kilometer or higher. To learn more, visit Ireland's Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government site.

Do you think we should adopt any of these programs in the U.S.?