In a move that included energy ministers from the world’s leading nations, and notably, the US, a body discussion has been founded to outline and improve energy efficiency on a global scale.

Signed at the G8 Energy Ministers Meeting in Rome, the G8 countries – Russia, Italy, Canada, the US, France, the UK, Japan, Germany – were joined by China, India, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico, in subscribing to the agreement.

It is hoped that the move will help develop stronger energy efficiency worldwide by providing a blueprint for cultural hegemony surrounding climate change. A spokesperson for the US Energy Department stated that,

“This will help, we think, since energy efficiency is often the lowest-cost, fastest path to energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions… Doing an inventory and sharing the plans is a good way for countries to compare themselves and say, ‘Look – Europe, Japan, the United States, Australia all have very active appliance standard programs and building codes, maybe I should be looking at that, too.’”

Placed alongside the current green fever taking over US congress as a result of President Barack Obama’s sometimes unpopular push for a ‘green revolution’, and the upcoming Copenhagen summit for updating the Kyoto Protocol in December, the creation of such a body, containing influential and powerful nations, is promising news indeed.

The body will look at the potential introduction of energy efficiency certificates, and hope to improve energy efficiency through looking at sustainable building work. With buildings believes to be the cause of 40% of the total carbon emissions worldwide, commentators, and the ministers themselves, believe this to be a key area for improvement.

Most importantly, though, the body will hope to promote the importance of energy efficiency improvements being recognised and tackled as a global issue. The US Energy Department stated that, “Energy efficiency is considered such a global priority…We’ve got to be sure that the best energy efficiency practices and technologies are used worldwide.”

The new body will be seen by some as something of a prototype for the potential moves that could be undertaken at the Copenhagen summit in December, and the cooperation shown by energy ministers here, will be encouraging news indeed.

Source: The ENN