The world wastes a lot of energy.

Wasted energy contributes to global warming and higher energy costs—so squeezing the most out of our energy supply saves money and has a surprising impact on our fight to against global warming.

Think about the ordinary, incandescent light bulb: In the United States, we spend more than $37 billion each year on electricity for light.

Now, consider that only 10 percent of the energy used by the bulb produces light—90 percent literally vanishes into thin air—it’s given off as heat.

Imagine what the world could do with that extra 90 percent of energy!

A new report published by the UN Foundation looks at ways for the world’s most developed countries – specifically those in the “Group of Eight” (G8) – to reduce energy waste by bolstering energy efficiency. Doing so will lower energy costs and help the world address the effects of climate change.

The report urges G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to double current energy efficiency improvements—reaching a rate of 2.5 percent per year.

If extended to other major, energy-using countries, achieving this goal would contribute to holding carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere to a manageable level for the rest of the century. It would also reduce energy demand in each of the G8 countries by 20 percent by 2030—an amount equal to energy from 2,000 coal-fired power plants.

The UNF report also calls for G8 countries to work alongside developing countries to achieve similar results, and provides options for all countries in planning energy efficiency goals.

Contact us to learn more about the report or choose from the options below.

Executive Summary
Realizing the Potential of Energy Efficiency
Download PDF
(39K)

Full Report
Realizing the Potential of Energy Efficiency
Download PDF
(400K)

Contact us to order hard copies of the full report.

Please include your name, organization, address and number of copies. Thank you for your interest.