International Energy Efficiency Policy Initiatives

THE ISSUE

ACEEE has long been committed to advising and assisting energy efficiency centers and programs in key developing countries, such as Brazil, China, and Thailand. Implementing energy conservation programs and decoupling economic growth from energy consumption enables developing countries to compete in the world market while mitigating pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. And as more efficient products are produced in these countries, countries that they export to, including the U.S., save energy as well.

In order to address global warming and reduce worldwide dependence on limited fossil fuel reserves, the U.S. should encourage and assist major developing countries to improve their energy efficiency. China, for example, has a rapidly growing economy and is both a major consumer of energy and a major supplier of energy-consuming products on the world market. China is now the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the second largest consumer of energy in the world, behind only the United States. Other major developing countries include India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and the nations of Southeast Asia.

• Substantial U.S. technical assistance to help major developing countries improve their energy efficiency.
• An international treaty regulating greenhouse gas emissions that includes appropriate commitments from the world's major developing countries and gets the world on a path toward keeping global CO2 levels to no more than 450 ppm and preferably less.