The World's Most Energy
-Efficient
Countries
GUESS WHAT? THE U.S. DOESN'T EVEN RANK IN THE TOP 10, AND OVERALL
IT APPEARS THE WORLD COULD SAVE TONS OF ENERGY BY DOING MORE
WITH LESS.
There's a cheap, easy way to have more energy, and it doesn't involve building another power station or wind
farm. Using less energy to do the same amount of work--i.e. energy efficiency--remains a
"massively underutilized energy resource," according to a new report.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy analyzed 16 major economies in 16 categories related
to both public policy and performance. Examples of policy include things like fuel efficiency standards for cars
and trucks and power efficiency standards for household appliances. Performance includes how far vehicles
actually go per gallon, and the energy consumed to heat a square foot of building. The report covers three
areas: buildings, industry, and transport.
From a maximum possible 100 points, Germany comes in at the top with 65, followed by Italy (64 points) and
the European Union as a whole (63 points). China comes top for the efficiency of its buildings, Germany for
industry, Italy for its transportation. And the U.S.? It is 13th place overall (out of 16 countries, remember),
with 42 points, behind China, Canada, and India, but ahead of Russia, Brazil, and Mexico, which fill the last
three places. In other words, for a leading industrial nation, the U.S. isn't doing particularly well.