A Quantum Leap in Energy Efficiency to Put the Sustainable Development Goals in Closer Reach
| Author | Daniel Puig,Timothy Clifford Farrell,Magda Moner‐Girona |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12574 |
| Published date | 01 September 2018 |
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
A Quantum Leap in Energy Efficiency to Put
the Sustainable Development Goals in Closer
Reach
Daniel Puig
Technical University of Denmark
Timothy Clifford Farrell
Australian Research Council
Magda Moner-Girona
European Commission’s Joint Research Centre
Abstract
Targeted improvements in the way energy is transformed, distributed and used can accelerate progress toward achieving the
United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Compared to a situation in which no indicators are defined and moni-
tored, tracking progress through indicators would make it easier to reap the full developmental benefits associated with
improvements in energy efficiency. We call upon G20 leaders to adopt SDG-specific energy-efficiency indicators, with a view
to ultimately accelerating progress toward achieving the United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals.
The traditional, energy sector-centred, rationale for energy
efficiency gains is threefold: increasing energy security,
improving access to modern forms of energy, and reducing
emissions of global warming gases (GEA, 2012).
Notwithstanding these benefits, which are critical to the
energy sector, public policy efforts aimed to improve energy
efficiency are increasingly being justified against a much
broader array of benefits. Prominent examples include
enhanced local air quality, expanded employment opportu-
nities, reduced public sector expenditure, or improved trade
balances, among many others (Puig and Farrell, 2014). Two
estimates, drawn from a larger set published by the Interna-
tional Energy Agency, illustrate this point (OECD/IEA 2014):
•Every 1 million euro invested in energy efficiency mea-
sures has a job creation potential that ranges from 8 to
27 job-years.
•When health and well-being impacts are included in the
calculation, energy efficiency retrofits in buildings have
benefit-cost ratios as high as 4:1.
Against this background, it is increasingly accepted that tar-
geted improvements in the way energy is transformed, dis-
tributed and used can accelerate progress toward achieving
the United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(UNEP, 2016).
1
For example, energy efficiency retrofits in
buildings (such as energy-efficient heating, ventilation and
air conditioning systems) can contribute to achieving SDG3
on healthy lives and well-being. Similarly, energy-efficient
machinery (from industrial motors and pumps, to boiler and
heating systems) can contribute to achieving SDG8 on sus-
tained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
While the performance of actions to achieve the SDGs is
monitored (UN-DESA, 2017), the extent to which these
actions take advantage of the developmental benefits asso-
ciated with energy efficiency improvements is not systemati-
cally tracked. Certainly, SDG7 (on affordable and clean
energy) has raised the profile of energy efficiency with
regard to energy security, access to modern forms of
energy, and mitigation of greenhouse-gas emissions.
2
How-
ever, the broader, non-energy-related benefits are not being
measured and, as a result, the true benefits of energy effi-
ciency are being underestimated even in SDG7, and much
more so in other SDGs. For those additional benefits to be
realised more effectively and swiftly, a monitoring pro-
gramme including energy efficiency-related indicators is
needed. Such programme would highlight that current
investment levels in energy efficiency are far from commen-
surate with the benefits arising from improvements in the
way energy is transformed, distributed and used: additional
financial support is needed, notably to develop baselines
and collect data on programme and project performance.
Compared to a situation in which no indicators are
defined and monitored (Locke et al., 1981), tracking pro-
gress through indicators would make it easier for decision-
Global Policy (2018) 9:3 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12574 ©2018 University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Global Policy Volume 9 . Issue 3 . September 2018 429
Practitioner Commentary
To continue reading
Request your trial