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Policies and Measures Addressing Climate Change: Framework Policy, 2007
Policy Name
Description
Austria
KlimaAktiv:
Climate Strategy
2008 - 2012
In response to climate change challenges, Austria developed the "Strategie Österreichs zur Erreichung des Kyoto-Ziels –
Klimastrategie 2008/2012"; This is a comprehensive strategy which lays out a series of measures intended to curb the
country’s GHG-emissions by 13% below 1990 levels up to 2008-2012, as stipulated in the EU burden-sharing. Responsibility for the implementation of the Klimastrategie is shared amongst various federal and Länder government institutions.
Austrian policies and measures designed to achieve the GHG emissions reductions required by the Kyoto Protocol are
mainly related to energy efficiency and broken down into seven packages of measures (space heating/private consumption, electricity and heat production, transport, industry, waste management, agriculture and forestry, and three fluorcompounds).
Elaborating on earlier climate change mitigation strategies, the KlimaAktiv program combines various market-constituent
measures and effectuates target-oriented implementation, by providing easier access to target groups and resources for
attaining the commonly set targets, by enhanced know how-transfer with support in vocational training and networking of
important actors, by the organisation and development of quality assurance and standards as well as by target groupspecific information and marketing.
KlimaAktiv programmes educate those investing in climate-relevant areas (i.e. promotors of residential housing projects,
companies, and home builders) by developing expertise of the providers of respective services (master builders, architects) and by promoting experienced workers on their relevant markets.
The government provides about EUR 5million per year to the KlimaAktiv programmes, and invites relevant branches of
business to contribute.
Czech Republic
Energy Management Act
The Energy Management Act (Act No. 406/2000), which entered into force in January 2001, and was amended in 2006,
established standards for energy efficiency of heat and electricity production, transmission, distribution and use, energy
planning requirements, energy auditing obligations, energy auditors certification, a, energy labelling programme, energy
performance of buildings, and inspection of boilers and air conditioning units.
The act sets forth a) certain measures towards enhancing the economical use of energy and the obligations of natural
and legal persons managing and using energy, and b) the rules applicable to the formulation of the National Energy Policy, the Territorial Energy Policies and the National Programme for Economical Energy Management and Use of Renewable and Secondary Energy Sources.
State Programme to
Support Energy Savings
and Use of Renewable
Energy and Secondary
Sources
This programme revolves around a strategic action document revised each year and implemented by a total of 15 sectors. The programme targets enterprises (legal entities and individuals); non-profit organisations; universities, and towns,
municipalities and regions.
Targets of the State Programme include the implementation of savings measures in the area of generation, transmission,
distribution and consumption of energy; and higher use of renewable and secondary sources of energy and the development of cogeneration of heat, cooling and electricity.
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Policies and Measures Addressing Climate Change: Framework Policy, 2007
Policy Name
Description
Supported activities:
Support for energy planning and certification of buildings: territorial energy planning; action plans for reconstruction or
refurbishment of building resources; plans for energy saving in industrial enterprises; plans for construction of centres for
use of municipal waste for energy purposes; certificates of energy intensity of buildings.
Energy generation and distribution facilities: increased efficiency of energy use in energy generation and distribution facilities; combined generation of heat and electricity; higher use of renewable and secondary sources of energy.
Support for Measures aimed at increasing the efficiency of energy use: decreased energy intensity of industrial plant;
comprehensive measures aimed at decreasing the energy intensity of buildings used in education, health services and
public utilities; comprehensive measures aimed at decreasing the energy intensity of housing; low energy and passive
solar housing; comprehensive measures aimed at decreasing the energy intensity in lighting; projects financed through
energy savings.
Consultancy, education, promotion and awareness with respect to the economical use of energy, having impact on the
safeguarding of the environment: consultancy; regional energy agencies; education and promotion; preparation of products in support of consultancy, education and promotion.
Czech Republic
(cont.)
Ireland
Green Paper on
Sustainable Energy
Published by the Department of Public Enterprise, the Green Paper on Sustainable Energy proposed the introduction of a
carbon or energy tax scheme along with a tradable permit system to encourage industrial emissions reduction. Among
other propositions, the paper sets forth a system to use revenue generated from a carbon tax or permit scheme to fund
grants for energy audits and investments in energy equipment.
Implementation of the Green Paper included launch of a EUR 21.1 mill. R&D programme for energy efficiency and a
EUR 12.7 mill. Public Sector Design Programme.
Switzerland
Energy Law
The Federal Energy Law was adopted by the Parliament in July 1998 and entered into force on 1 January 1999. The Energy Law envisages measures to reduce energy consumption in the following areas:
• Regulations about stating the energy consumption of installations, vehicles and equipment, and about reducing their
consumption.
• Cantonal legislation in the building sector (heat insulation, individual metering and billing of heating and hot water).
• Financial incentives for the efficient use of energy, renewable sources of energy and waste heat and promotion measures (information, advice, education, training, research, pilot installations, demonstration installations).
• Guidelines and regulations to ensure the economic and environmentally friendly supply of energy (responsibility of the
energy industry for the supply of energy, the use of waste heat in power stations which run on fossil fuels, regulations
for independent power producers).
The Energy Law obliges consumption-based heating cost allocation for new buildings. Cantons are required to draw up
corresponding provisions, and are at liberty to extend the obligation to existing buildings. As of 2004, some cantons had
already done this, others were in the process of doing so.
Consumption-based heating and hot water cost allocation can achieve savings in heating energy of around 14% on average, even in times of low energy prices. In late 2004, around 450,000 dwellings in Switzerland (out of a total of 1.2 mill.
that could be converted) used consumption-based heating cost allocation.
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Policies and Measures Addressing Climate Change: Framework Policy, 2007
Policy Name
Australia
Description
Securing Australia's
Energy Future
The Australian Government's Energy White Paper - Securing Australia's Energy Future - establishes a long term policy
framework for Australian energy. Securing Australia's Energy Future includes a range of new initiatives, including:
• driving investment of at least AUD 1.5 bill. to demonstrate break through technologies with long term greenhouse gas
reduction potential through the establishment of a AUD 500 million fund to leverage private sector investment of at least
AUD 1 bill. in the demonstration of low emission technologies;
• the provision of AUD 134 mill. to support commercialisation of renewable technologies;
• a commitment of AUD 75 mill. for Solar Cities trials to demonstrate a new energy scenario;
• an overhaul of the fuel excise system, reducing excise costs on businesses and households by AUD 1.5 bill. in the period to 2012-13;
• a requirement that Australia's largest energy users undertake regular energy efficiency assessments, with firms using
more than 0.5 petajoules of energy a year undertaking mandatory energy assessments every 5 years and reporting
publicly on the outcomes; and
• a requirement that large energy projects and recipients of more than AUD 3 mill. in excise credits to manage their emissions through membership of the Greenhouse Challenge Programme.
Solar Cities
The Australian Government's 2004 Energy White Paper, Securing Australia's Energy Future, committed AUD 75.3 million
to fund a series of trials to gauge the benefits of concerted use of solar and energy efficient technologies combined with
interval metering. The Solar Cities trials sought to address barriers to solar generation and demand side participation in
grid-connected urban areas, including the appropriately pricing and valuation of these technologies and demand side
measures in the evolving energy markets to support their commercial uptake.
GHG: greenhouse gas
Source: IAE, Climate Change Database (http://www.iea.org/textbase/pm/Default.aspx?mode=cc), accessed 17. September 2007.
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