Today, few in the U.S. would disagree that we use too much energy, whether we are talking about drivers, homeowners, businesses or manufacturers.
Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest and often the easiest way to improve the U.S. energy situation and slash carbon emissions. According to a 2007 report from the National Petroleum Council, available efficiency technology if applied to residential and commercial buildings would reduce energy use 15 to 20% if applied today.
Dow has been a pioneer in energy efficiency and has been recognized for its leadership. From 1990 to 2005, Dow reduced its energy intensity by 38%, saving 1,600 trillion Btu, which is the equivalent to the electrical energy used by all residential buildings in California for a full year. And we are not done; as part of our 2015 Sustainability Goals, we have pledged a further 25% reduction in our energy intensity by 2015. If the U.S. was to adopt a similar economy-wide goal, this country could save the Btu equivalent of all of its oil imports from the Middle East.
We call for:
- A goal of improving the energy efficiency of new homes and buildings by 30% over 10 years.
- A long-term extension of the tax incentives for energy efficiency.
- Voluntary green building programs that establish standards and targets for contractors to build more energy-efficient homes and buildings.
- Programs like the Department of Energy’s Home Improvement with Energy Star that address the energy efficiency of existing buildings.
- Policies that provide incentives for power generators and distributors to undertake cost-effective energy efficiency measures.
- A concerted public energy education campaign, which can reduce demand and prices by empowering consumers to use less and adopt smarter habits {California relied on such a program and almost overnight the state was able to slash its power demand by double-digits and keep the lights on during its 2000-2001 energy crisis.}
- A pilot program to identify and demonstrate energy-saving best practices in cities, which are responsible for a disproportionate amount of energy demand.
- Fully funding and implementing the energy efficiency provisions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act.
Our recommendations highlight tackling the largest energy demand source and one of the biggest climate change contributors: homes and buildings. In the U.S. each year, the building sector accounts for about half (48%) of all energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. A combination of federal financial incentives and energy efficiency building codes could provide large-scale savings and significantly improve this country’s energy security. Residential and commercial buildings are difficult to capture under a greenhouse gas emissions cap. However, success in meeting reduction goals depends in large part on the transformation of the energy profile of the building sector.
