Highlights from Energy Efficiency 2017 - International Energy Agency:

  • Global energy intensity – primary energy demand per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) – fell by 1.8% in 2016. Since 2010, intensity has declined at an average rate of 2.1% per year, which is a significant increase from the average rate of 1.3% between 1970 and 2010.
  • Falling energy intensity is the main factor behind the flattening of global energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 2014, offsetting three-quarters of the impact of GDP growth. An increase in the share of renewable energy and other low-emission fuels was responsible for offsetting the other quarter.
  • Without efficiency improvements since 2000, the world would have used 12% more energy than it did in 2016 – equivalent to adding another European Union to the global energy market. Improvements in energy efficiency are the biggest contributor to reduced energy use and emissions, more than double the impact of the shift in economic activity towards less energy-intensive sectors.
  • In emerging economies, energy efficiency gains have limited the increase in energy use associated with rapid economic growth. Without efficiency, total energy use among the member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) would still be increasing. Instead, efficiency has led to a peak in total energy use in 2007, and a subsequent fall to levels not seen since the 1990s.

Global investment in energy efficiency increased by 9% in 2016, despite lower energy prices and a slowdown in new policies mandating efficiency codes and standards. The IEA says gains in global energy efficiency will erode if the pace of policy implementation doesn’t accelerate.

But will the gains erode without additional mandates? I don't know. Sometimes you need to push to get the ball rolling, but do you need to continue pushing with the same force for the ball to accelerate? After all, both consumers and businesses gain from increased energy efficiency. And cheaper energy prices haven't blunted their enthusiasm for getting more buck with less bang.

We're about to find out (or at least get some relevant data) from the US example, where the EPA is being gutted and new efficiency standards have been held back from implementation. The US: a test case for what could happen to improvements in energy efficiency when the government relinquishes its oversight role.