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G8 Report Transcription (Page 6)

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implement national energy efficiency programmes and advance international cooperation on energy efficiency, notably on efficiency standards. We ask the IEA to continue to support our national efforts by appropriate advice and make proposals for effective international co-operation.

We will furthermore work together with the major emerging economies towards a reduction in energy consumption in priority sectors. To this end we will invite the IEA, its members and their respective industries to increase the dialogue with the major emerging economies on more efficient energy policies and develop guidance mechanisms.

Sustainable Buildings

The opportunities for making buildings more efficient are enormous. Following the EU/G8 conference on energy efficiency, held in Berlin in April 2007, we will

• ·set up a "Sustainable Buildings Network", involving the G8 and open for participation of the major emerging economies. The network will develop practical instruments for assessing and advising on the implementation of energy efficiency in buildings and the use of renewable energies, especially for cooling and heating, taking into due consideration the different situations of new and existing buildings, and development and deployment of low and zero-carbon buildings,
• ·invite the IEA to take a central role in creating this network,
• ·work to increase energy efficiency in the building sector, and to reach a considerable expansion of renewable energies in this area. To this end we will consider the role of nationally determined targets in sustainable buildings and their importance for energy efficiency in the medium to long term. We will actively support the energy efficient technologies and the use of renewable energies by employing market mechanisms, promotion instruments and framework legislation, as well as through public-private-partnership initiatives to move towards low or zero-energy buildings. Instruments to this end include consumer information such as energy performance certificates ("building passports") and individual energy standards - which also consider renewable energies - for new buildings, modernisation or household equipment.

Transportation

Today there are 600 million motor vehicles around the globe, a figure which is projected to double by 2020. With this in mind, we will

• ·work to increase energy efficiency in the transport sector. To this end we will ask our governments to foster a large number of possible measures and various instruments that can clearly reduce energy demand and CO2 emissions in thetransport sector, including inter alia innovative engine concepts, alternative fuels, city planning measures, public transport, best possible inter-linkage of transport methods, increase the share of alternative fuels and energy carriers (biofuels, hydrogen, LPG/CNG, electricity, hybrid, etc.) in total fuel consumption; fuel diversification, for example synthetic and cellulosic biofuels and CO2-free hydrogen, particularly in combination with the fuel cell, will be decisive in reducing transport CO2 emissions, provided that second generation biofuel technologies become commercially available,
• ·step up coordination on development of international biofuel quality standards from various feedstocks to achieve optimal interoperability and emission profiles,
• ·avoid possible negative side-effects in biofuel development, particularly in developing countries in order to prevent competition between different forms of land uses, and promote sustainability in biomass cultivation. We invite the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) to continue its work on biofuel best practices and take forward the successful and sustainable development of bioenergy, (continued on next page)

Photo Credit: German Federal Government/Gebhardt