On 5 April 2016 the JRC presented the interactive and collaborative online European Energy Efficiency Platform. This beta platform is conceived to fill the gap opened by scattered data and fragmented knowledge resulting from a rapidly growing energy efficiency market. It is expected to be both a one-stop shop for information retrieval and a meeting point for experts to exchange data and reduce redundant activities.
Policies and Targets
Energy Generation and Distribution
EU as a whole and the majority of Member States are on track to achieve the 2020 energy targets.
The binding Renewable Energy Directive targets are playing an important role in the transformation of energy mix portfolio in European Union
Policy Context
Created the 21 Sep 201521 Sep 2015Total Views 8181
Policies and Targets
Energy Generation and Distribution
Greenhouse gas emission savings due to renewable energy (2009-12)
Policy context
The EU has made a unilateral commitment to reduce in 2020 the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its Member States by 20% compared to 1990 levels putting a legally binding target of 20 % of gross final energy consumption (GFEC) from renewable energy sources.
Created the 15 Sep 201515 Sep 2015Total Views 409409
Policies and Targets
Primary energy consumption in the EU-28 in 2013 was 1566.5 Mtoe, i.e. 1% lower than in 2012. During the period 1990-2005 it increased by 8.9% and, as result of the undertaken policies and the financial and economic crisis, it decreased by 8.3% over the period 2005-2013. There was a recovery by 2010, when primary energy consumption increased by nearly 4%, followed by another decrease in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Created the 09 Sep 201509 Sep 2015Total Views 112112
Policies and Targets
Buildings
The energy saving potential of the building sector in the EU has enjoyed increasing attention in recent years. Modernising the building sector is also attached to a number of important benefits for many actors in society. It results in reduced energy bills, increased disposable income and improved indoor comfort levels for households. For firms, greater energy efficiency translates to increased productivity and...
Created the 27 Aug 201527 Aug 2015Total Views 952952
Economics and Financing
Buildings
With the right set of policy tools, it is generally accepted that governments can play a crucial role in promoting energy efficiency and leveraging more investments in the building sector, especially in the existing stock. Buildings are responsible for 40% of total energy consumption of the EU and their modernisation is considered to be pivotal in our shift towards a low carbon economy.
Current...
Created the 27 Aug 201527 Aug 2015Total Views 760760
The main purpose of this scientific report is to provide an assessment of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) Initiative 6 years after it has been initiated by the European Commission. By implementing the CoM Initiative, the European Commission has given visibility to the role of local authorities and their relevant contribution to EU2020 Climate and Energy targets. This is the second assessment report in a series of CoM...
Created the 31 Jul 201531 Jul 2015Total Views 688688
Policies and Targets
Urban Areas
24 mayors and representatives of local authorities from five countries in the south Mediterranean region just signed the Covenant of Mayors committing to help reduce carbon emissions.
Read more
Created the 07 May 201507 May 2015Total Views 175175
Policies and Targets
Urban Areas
Covenant Signatories in Eastern European and Central Asian countries share a common history and former administrative structure, which still influences the operational framework of these local authorities today.
Created the 06 May 201506 May 2015Total Views 3434
Policies and Targets
Urban Areas
The French town of Seclin has just signed the Covenant of Mayors, by the way endorsing the CO2-reduction objective of Lille's urban community: 30% by 2020.
Read more
Created the 04 May 201504 May 2015Total Views 3535
Policies and Targets
EU Commissioner for Transport Violetta Bulc, met with politicians of the EUROCITIES Mobility Forum on 20 April 2015 to discuss the links between sustainable urban mobility and broader EU objectives for reduced C02 emissions.
Read more
Created the 29 Apr 201529 Apr 2015Total Views 4040
Economics and Financing
Gdynia is the most energy-efficient city in Poland, improving its citizens’ quality of life on small municipal spending. How?
Created the 27 Apr 201527 Apr 2015Total Views 7373
Economics and Financing
Urban Areas
The MESHARTILITY project (Measure and share data with utilities for the Covenant of Mayors) is an IEE-funded project that addresses data challenges faced by local governments when compiling their GHG inventories and Sustainable Energy Action Plans.
Created the 17 Apr 201517 Apr 2015Total Views 143143
Economics and Financing
Urban Areas
On 24-25 March 2015, a ManagEnergy workshop on innovative financing and multi-level governance was organised in Bratislava (Slovakia). Front-running Slovak and Czech cities and regions engaged in the energy transition shared information on their sustainable energy investments, local financing schemes and partnerships with financing institutions, national authorities and the private sector.
Created the 15 Apr 201515 Apr 2015Total Views 3333
Policies and Targets
Urban Areas
The results of the SEAP monitoring of 23 Italian municipalities were presented on 30 March in Rome. Covenant Coordinator Metropolitan City of Rome Capital (formerly Province of Rome) and Covenant Supporter Climate Alliance Italy provided support to the 23 signatories of the area in preparing their monitoring reports.
Created the 15 Apr 201515 Apr 2015Total Views 3333
Energy Generation and Distribution
The objective of this paper is to explore the interlinkages between biomass production and use for energy and food security. Both conflict areas and possible synergies are highlighted. An overall view on the sustainable potential of bio-energy on longer term on global scale is given and the paper closes with a set of interlinked recommendations how such a sustainable pathway could be followed.
Created the 16 Feb 201516 Feb 2015Total Views 3737
Economics and Financing
There is a growing interest in reducing energy consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions in every sector of the economy. The residential sector is a substantial consumer of energy in every country, and therefore a focus for energy consumption efforts.
Created the 13 Feb 201513 Feb 2015Total Views 434434
Global climate change poses significant risks to the California economy. Recognizing and responding to these threats, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order #S-3-05 (Schwarzenegger 2005) which called for a 30 percent reduction below business-as-usual of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Created the 13 Feb 201513 Feb 2015Total Views 2929
Since its inception in 1981, ACEEE has produced a wide variety of reports and assessments focused on energy efficiency as a low-cost, reliable alternative to our nation's growing energy demands. This report departs from ACEEE's traditional focus on energy efficiency as a resource and instead frames efficiency as an invisible powerhouse and an underappreciated investment opportunity.
Created the 13 Feb 201513 Feb 2015Total Views 531531
Economics and Financing
Industry
The stochastic frontier analysis (Aigner et al., 1977, Meeusen and van de Broeck, 1977) is widely used to estimate individual efficiency scores. The basic idea lies in the introduction of an additive error term consisting of a noise and an inefficiency term. Most often the assumption of a half-normal distributed inefficiency term is applied, but other distributions are also discussed in relevant literature.
Created the 13 Feb 201513 Feb 2015Total Views 10031003
We argue that a primary focus on energy efficiency may not be sufficient to slow (and ultimately reverse) the growth in total energy consumption and carbon emissions. Instead, policy makers need to return to an earlier emphasis on “conservation,” with energy efficiency seen as a means rather than an end in itself.
Created the 13 Feb 201513 Feb 2015Total Views 454454
