World Energy Outlook 2013: buildings at the heart of the world’s “first fuel”
Energy efficiency was described by IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven as the world’s ‘first fuel’, and buildings were highlighted as the sector with the largest untapped economic energy efficiency potential, at 80% by 2035. These were key findings of the IEA’s Energy Efficiency Market Report and World Energy Outlook 2013.
According to the IEA, 11 of its member countries made energy savings worth $420 billion between 2005 and 2010, more than any other single fuel source. The World Energy Outlook found that the main driver of energy savings in Europe is the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive, through energy efficiency obligation schemes and the renovation of the building stock, with Member States due to submit their long-term renovation strategies by April 2014.
