US Ranks No. 2 in Sustainable Energy Policies

RISE scores

by | Feb 23, 2017

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RISE scoresThe US, in a three-way tie with Canada and the Netherlands, ranks no. 2 in sustainable energy policies, according to a World Bank report RISE (Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy).

The report, which the World Bank says is the first global policy scorecard of its kind, grades 111 countries in three areas: energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy. It ranks Denmark in the top position.

While RISE is aimed at helping governments assess if they have a policy and regulatory framework in place to drive progress on sustainable energy, it also suggests there are business opportunities for private companies in helping governments achieve their carbon emissions targets.

One example of how companies can help countries improve their carbon management is Honeywell, which today announced an energy management project with Coop Denmark, the country’s largest retailer of consumer goods, to help reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020 and achieve mandated carbon reduction goals.

Under the project, Honeywell will deploy its software-based energy management system, Enacto, and up to 20,000 new wireless Enacto submeters throughout the network of stores to provide the retailer with a unified view of emissions across all of its locations.

Honeywell’s product will enable Coop Denmark to identify opportunities to reduce consumption, lower energy and operational costs, and track returns on energy-saving measures. It will also help the retailer contribute to Denmark’s goal of having the world’s first carbon-neutral capital by 2025. The project is expected to be completed by 2020.

Denmark scored 94 out of 100 on the World Bank’s RISE Index.

The US, which received 91 points, has also taken many steps to support both renewable energy and energy efficiency, the report says. Along with Australia, it is one of only two countries that implement all three steps— monitoring, verification and enforcement, or MV&E — of energy standards and labeling.

The US also received high marks for its renewable energy policies and its real-time electricity tariffs used in the industrial and commercial sectors, combined with load reduction incentives, to reduce peak-time energy use.

Carbon markets is an area where the US falls short: of the 23 countries with some form of carbon pricing mechanism, Denmark has the highest coverage (89 percent) while the US has the lowest coverage (7 percent), because only 10 out of 50 states participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) or the California Cap-and-Trade Program.

 

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