International Energy Agency (IEA), 2016
Summary
Global energy intensity – the amount of energy used per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) – improved by 1.8% in 2015, surpassing the 1.5% gain seen in 2014. However, as IEA analysis shows, annual energy intensity improvements need to rise immediately to at least 2.6% in a trajectory consistent with global climate goals. Energy intensity did not decline uniformly across the globe. Gains in 2015 were higher in emerging and developing countries, at 2.5%, than industrialised countries, at 2%. Energy efficiency levels in IEA member countries improved, on average, by 14% between 2000 and 2015. The energy savings reduced total energy expenditure by 540 billion USD in 2015, mostly in buildings and industry. In particular, China’s progress on energy efficiency is now at a scale where it is making a significant mark on global energy markets. However, Chinese energy intensity levels in 2015 are still 50% higher than the OECD average. Government policy has been fundamental to improving energy efficiency. The growth of mandatory policies such as standards, in terms of both their range of coverage and the performance levels they require, is having a material effect on energy demand. In 2015, 30% of final energy demand globally was covered by mandatory efficiency policies, up from 11% in 2000. Progress has been fastest in residential buildings, where expansion of building energy codes and tightening of minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) on heating and cooling equipment are driving improvements. Policies to improve energy efficiency not only save energy, they produce multiple other benefits such as enhanced energy security and improved air quality. Policy has also protected the efficiency market from declining energy prices. Consumer prices have remained relatively steady or fallen much less than headline prices for energy commodities. In parallel, fuel economy standards applied in many countries are driving efficiency gains in new vehicles. In the residential sector, energy efficiency investment in buildings in OECD countries increased by 9% in 2015. Efficiency actions in buildings appear to be driven less by price and more by the implementation of policy instruments such as MEPS. As policies have expanded, so has investment in energy efficiency. The IEA estimates that global investment in energy efficiency was USD 221 billion in 2015, an increase of 6% from 2014. Investment in efficiency was two-thirds greater than investment in conventional power generation in 2015. Evidence indicates that the energy efficiency market will grow in the coming years. Mergers and acquisitions of energy efficiency services firms have been increasing, with utilities, technology providers and energy equipment manufacturers all stepping into the market. Finance for dedicated energy efficiency products and services is also expanding. Finally, energy efficiency is the only energy resource possessed by all countries. Global collaboration and knowledge exchange will be essential elements of strengthening action on energy efficiency in all countries.
Destatis, 2017
Summary
Increasing social and political awareness of environmental protection and resource conservation is also creating growing demand for and production of goods, constructions and services for environmental protection. In 2015, German companies generated €66.0 billion in sales of goods, construction and services for environmental protection. Compared to the previous year, sales increased by 0.9% or 0.6 billion euros. Research into the intended use of the environmental goods and services produced shows that more than half of the environmental protection sales generated in 2015 were accounted for by climate protection. Climate protection is provided by measures to prevent, eliminate or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, to use renewable energies, to save energy and to increase energy efficiency. With products and services to improve energy efficiency alone, 16.3 billion euros were generated in 2015. Compared to climate protection, the classical environmental areas such as air pollution control, wastewater management, noise protection or protection of species are less strong in their economic importance. However, noise control is the fastest growing environmental area in 2015. The largest amount of environmental related revenues was generated in the manufacturing sector, at € 54.1 billion. In terms of environmental protection, the most important economic sectors were machine construction (24.6 billion euros), the manufacture of motor vehicles (5.0 billion euros), and the manufacture of rubber and plastic products (4.4 billion euros) and the manufacture of electrical equipment (3.6 billion euros). The construction industry generated €6.3 billion in environmental protection services. Less important for the environmental protection industry is the service sector with environmental revenues of 5.2 billion euros. If the generated sales for environmental protection are differentiated by goods and services, in 2015 goods in connection with climate protection had the highest sales. The highest sales of goods and services for environmental protection were achieved in the areas of energy-efficient drive and control technology (8.6 billion euros) and onshore wind power (7.4 billion euros). Also of high relevance are the sales of goods, construction and services in connection with the catalytic emission control (4.4 billion euros), sewerage systems (4.2 billion euros), the thermal insulation of buildings (4.1 billion euros) and photovoltaic (€ 3.2 billion). Regarding foreign trade, more than half (62.7%) of environmental protection sales were generated domestically, at 41.4 billion euros. Only 24.6 billion euros were spent on the export. Since 2013, it has been observed that environmental protection in Germany is increasingly being generated through domestic sales of goods and services. Regarding employment, 259,203 employees worked for environmental protection in the companies, corporations and facilities covered in this investigation. More than two-thirds of environmental protection workers (174,408) worked in manufacturing facilities. The construction industry employed 45,455 people and the service sector 37,194 workers.