Environmental Issues: International Issues

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All Documents in International Issues Tagged energy efficiency

Saving Money and Energy
Case Study of the Energy-Efficiency Retrofit of the Godrej Bhavan Building in Mumbai
Issue Paper

Historic blackouts across India in July 2012 revealed the severity of India's energy crisis. Looking ahead, scaling up energy efficiency promises to be the fastest, cheapest, and cleanest way to help meet India's energy demands. This case study highlights Godrej Bhavan, an iconic office building in South Mumbai, focusing on the strong business case for energy-efficiency upgrades or retrofits.

Constructing Change: Accelerating Energy Efficiency in India's Buildings Market
Issue Paper

India is at a crossroads in its development path. India's building-occupied area is projected to skyrocket from 8 billion square meters in 2005 to 41 billion in 2030. To keep pace, India's energy production must grow 6.5 percent per year from 2011 to 2017. Energy efficiency will be the cheapest, fastest way to close the energy demand and supply gap.

Saving Energy
Taking Building Efficiency to New Heights
Fact Sheet

Efficiency is everywhere, but it is an invisible resource and often underutilized. Energy efficiency is the fastest, cleanest, and cheapest way to meet energy needs -- India alone could save $42 billion each year by largely improving energy efficiency in buildings, which currently consume more than 30 percent of the country's electricity. With a projected skyrocketing increase in building-occupied area in India, from 8 billion square meters in 2005 to 41 billion by 2030, any building constructed without optimizing efficiency represents a lost opportunity to lock in energy and cost savings for decades. Get document in pdf.

Taking Energy Efficiency to New Heights
Analysis and Recommendations for the Buildings Sector from the Hyderabad Experience
Issue Paper

This report by NRDC and the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) examines the significant energy efficiency potential of India's real estate sector through specific analysis of Hyderabad's commercial and high-rise building sector.

Capturing Energy Savings Opportunities Through Increased Building Efficiency
Fact Sheet

Energy efficiency is the fastest and cheapest way to meet energy needs. Efficiency is an invisible resource -- one that is everywhere -- and yet often overlooked. According to McKinsey & Company, India could save $42 billion each year with enhanced efficiency; and the building sector could be a key source for those savings. Buildings already account for more than 30 percent of India's electricity consumption. Total building space in India will increase from 8 billion square meters in 2005 to 41 billion by 2030. Two-thirds of commercial and high-rise residential structures that will be standing in 2030 have yet to be built. Every building constructed without optimal efficiency represents a lost opportunity to lock in lower energy consumption and increased savings for decades. Get document in pdf.

NRDC is Leading the Way Towards Climate Solutions for China
Fact Sheet

China’s rapid development has created urgent environmental and energy challenges—-but it also presents a unique opportunity to help shape a low-carbon, sustainable development pathway for China that would have significant benefits both for China and the world. For nearly 15 years, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has been working to strengthen environmental protection and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China by working with central and local governments, research institutes, environmental groups, and businesses to develop the policies and tools needed to address China’s climate and energy challenges.
Get document in pdf.

Accelerating the Greening of China
Promoting Cutting-edge Environmental Solutions in China
Index

In the past three decades, China's explosive growth has resulted in serious environmental problems with impacts beyond China's borders. NRDC is working with key Chinese government agencies, research institutes, lawyers and environmental groups to help promote cutting-edge environmental solutions in China. These factsheets describe NRDC's work to help address some of China's most pressing environmental challenges.

Costa Rica: Setting the Pace for Reducing Global Warming Pollution and Phasing Out Oil
Fact Sheet

Already a world leader in renewable energy use and tropical forest conservation, Costa Rica has declared the goal of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral country. To achieve this goal, Costa Rica must reduce its dependence on oil and increase investment in domestic renewable energy production and demand reduction strategies. Get document in pdf.

Toward a Clean Energy Future in China
In-depth policy papers and analyses from NRDC's China clean energy project.
Index

Clean energy is a cornerstone of China's future -- sustainable energy development will bring tremendous social, economic and environmental benefits to the people of the world's largest nation. This index collects policy papers and other technical documents from NRDC's clean-energy experts.

For additional policy documents, see the NRDC Document Bank.