It is clear that city must be part of the solution if an urbanizing world is to grapple successfully with ecological challenges such as energy depletion and climate change. A system dynamics model was developed in this study using STELLA platform to model the energy consumption and CO2 emission trends for the City of Beijing over 2005–2030. Results show that the total energy demand in Beijing is predicted to reach 114.30 million tonnes coal equivalent (Mtce) by 2030, while that value in 2005 is 55.99 Mtce, which is 1.04 times higher than the level in 2005.

This report is the first report of the ‘Energy Savings 2030’-project which seeks to help the Coalition for Energy Savings to produce a robust and timely input to the 2030 policy discussion. It brings together and summarises recent empirical evidence on costs and benefits of energy efficiency measures. The evidence gap in terms of reliable ex-post data is well known. In the majority of cases results from ex-ante modelling studies inform the debate. The research carried out for this report confirms the persistent gap in publicly available ex-post evaluations of energy efficiency programmes.

Global warming and environment problems caused by the excessive emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), along with rapid economic development has attracted the attention of many countries and regions of the world. Reducing GHG emissions is essential to mitigate the threat of global warming. Household carbon (dioxide) emissions have been recognized as one of the most important contributors to climate change, with a significant impact on both the local and global environment, and various policy instruments have been implemented by governments to bring about the reduction.

This report presents the results of a state-by-state analysis of the potential energy and cost savings from improving compliance with building energy codes to 100 percent from current levels. The report also examines 45 statewide compliance evaluation studies, providing a summary of evaluation methods and key findings. Evidence in most states indicates that staggering rates of non-compliance, as high as 100 percent in some jurisdictions, have eroded the gains from energy code development and adoption.

We report on an original systematic review of 165 empirical, ex post studies examining policies that promote the development and use of low-carbon technologies. Policy is defined broadly to include diverse instruments (e.g., eco-labels, voluntary agreements, emission credits, and taxes), developed, administered, and promoted by state and non-state actors (e.g., cities, states, corporations, business associations, and non-governmental organizations) that are relevant to climate change.

Focusing on the voluntary LEED and ENERGY STAR environmental certification schemes in the United States, we investigate whether price premiums exist across all building value categories or are localized to specific value segments. We find that the largest value building segment does not demonstrate any price premiums, while the smallest value categories do. The concentrated supply of eco-labeled offices in large, high-quality buildings likely contributes to this phenomenon.

This paper contrasts two perspectives on energy efficient home renovations from applied behavioural research on energy efficiency and from sociological research on homes and domestic life. Applied behavioural research characterises drivers and barriers to cost-effective renovations, and identifies personal and contextual influences on homeowners’ renovation decisions. Research findings inform policies to promote energy efficiency by removing barriers or strengthening decision influences.