A new whitepaper from Danfoss, the engineering company controlled by the Danish family, highlights the sharp rise in global energy demand and makes the case that, absent urgent action to reduce energy demand, the development of renewable energy sources will not be enough to meet the needs of a growing population.
Danfoss said it aims to provide actionable policy proposals for urgent action that governmental, business, and community leaders must take into consideration before, during, and after COP27 as the world leaders discussed during COP27 in Egypt.
Statistics, using the sharp increase in cooling demand in the Global South as an example, demonstrate that the present build out of renewables won't even come close to being sufficient if we don't also reduce our need for energy.
Kim Fausing, president and chief executive officer of Danfoss, urged climate leaders to take prompt action after COP27 to electrify and implement energy saving measures.
"The world, and Europe in particular, is approaching the energy dilemma from a single angle, concentrating only on the supply of energy and not enough on the demand. We can save more than two dollars on energy supply for every dollar spent on energy efficiency. Energy efficiency solutions are currently used across all industries thanks to available technology.”
He continued, "Meeting the Paris Agreement objective of remaining below 1.5 degrees warming will be very difficult and more expensive if we don't take action now to address the growing demand for energy”.
Energy efficiency is the quickest, simplest, and most effective approach for accelerating India's green transition, according to Ravichandran Purushothaman, President of the Danfoss India region. It can provide around 40% of the total emission cuts required for us to meet our net zero emission goal, he stated.
“The whitepaper from Danfoss emphasises the necessity of taking immediate action to address the rising demand for energy. Rapid energy action is both critical and possible for our sustainable transition to a carbon-neutral future, as the energy crisis is looming large in many countries. Danfoss aspires to aid in this transition by serving as a preferred decarbonization partner and setting a positive example with its ambitious internal climate goals and global accomplishments”, he added.
Need for urgent focus behind the demand
The 'The Neglected Demand Side of the Green Equation' whitepaper goes into great length about how energy efficiency makes electrification possible. Experts concur that in order to reach net zero, we must switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and electrify every industry.
However, it is a fundamental but often ignored point that we must first lower energy consumption if we want to increase the contribution of electricity to the energy mix. Peaks are produced and consumed by green energy. These peaks are lowered by energy efficiency, which also lowers the overall cost of electrification.
Even so, the world's structures, networks of transportation, and vehicles continue to run with significant inefficiencies, losing heat and energy on a massive scale. This new whitepaper takes on this issue head-on by outlining the crucial data and figures that should guide society's deliberations on these matters as well as clear and doable legislative solutions for resolving the equation's current imbalance. For instance:
- If implemented globally, energy efficiency measures might get the globe one third of the way to Net Zero (according to IEA)
- We can avoid spending more than $2 on energy supply for every $1 spent on energy efficiency.
- According to the IEA's net zero scenario, the world's population and economy will both increase by 40% by 2030, yet final energy demand would still need to be 5% lower than it is today.
- A major blind hole in the fight against climate change is cooling. Growing demand for cooling has the potential to lead to one of the biggest rises in greenhouse gas emissions we have ever seen as economies develop and adjust to a warmer environment, especially in the Global South.
- Solutions for reducing energy waste and electrifying buildings, businesses, and transportation must be implemented quickly by policymakers.
- In the net zero scenario, improved efficiency and associated averted energy demand could help households cut their annual energy costs by at least USD 650 billion by 2030.
- Additionally, by 2030, increased investments to accomplish these energy reductions could support an additional 10 million employment in industries associated to efficiency, including manufacturing, transportation infrastructure, new construction, and building retrofits.
According to Kim Fausing, the development of renewable energy sources won't even come close to being adequate if we don't reduce our energy consumption. Simply put, we will be unable to meet the demands of a growing population with green energy. Renewable energy is utilised and produced in peaks, which is a little-known phenomenon. By using surplus heat from businesses, stores, and data centres to heat our homes, for example, energy efficiency enables us to lower these peaks. For our civilization to fully electrify, energy efficiency is essential.
"Despite recent positive actions in the EU, our global climate targets cannot be met with the current levels of energy efficiency investment. Governments have garnered attention with mid-century goals, but have largely failed to put the available immediate remedies into action. The eye of history is watching, as US Vice President Biden declared at COP26 in Glasgow last year. It's time to take action, pass legislation, and establish minimum standards for energy efficiency. In the current energy crisis, the greenest energy is also by far the cheapest, and it is crucial if we want to fulfil the Paris Agreement objective, he continued.
About Danfoss India
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Danfoss Group and a market leader in energy-efficient solutions, Danfoss India. With products including drives, heating valves, controls, solutions for HVAC, heavy industry, district cooling, hydraulics, fluid conveyance, and under floor heating applications, Danfoss services a broad spectrum of sectors in India. Technologies created by Danfoss engineers make it possible for people in the future to accomplish more with less. Oragadam Chennai serves as the headquarters for Danfoss India Region. Our primary goal is to create novel items for the Indian market as well as the global market. Danfoss has a large channel partner network, a national network of sales and service representatives, and more than 2000 workers in India. In India, Mr. Ravichandran Purushothaman serves as the company's president.
About Danfoss A/S
Solutions created by Danfoss engineers improve machine productivity while decreasing pollutants, consuming less energy, and enabling electrification. Our products are used in a variety of industries, including industrial machinery, automotive, marine, off- and on-highway equipment, heating, cooling, power conversion, motor control, and refrigeration. In addition, we offer city-wide district energy infrastructure and solutions for renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy. Our pioneering engineering began in 1933. Danfoss is a family-owned company with a global network of 95 plants, more than 40,000 employees, and customers in more than 100 countries.
