International Day of Clean Energy

  Japan has maintained mandatory energy efficiency standards for appliances and automobiles since 1980, which were not very successful, however, as they were largely based on negotiations with industry. In 1998, Japan initiated the Top Runner Programme to improve energy efficiency of end-use products , as a cornerstone of its climate change policy. The idea is that the most energy-efficient product on the market during the standard-setting process establishes the “Top Runner standard” which all corresponding product manufacturers will aim to achieve in the next stage. Energy efficiency standards are discussed and determined by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and its advisory committees comprising representatives from academia, industry, consumer groups, local governments and mass media. The scope of the Programme is reviewed every two to three years. It started with 9 products and had been expanded to 21 products by 2009. The targeted products account for more tha...

  Energy technologies have been greatly shaping society and the environment for the past two centuries. In fact, modern civilizations are largely dependent on fossil fuel energy technologies , which make high-density urban settlements possible. While technological progress has eliminated many problems, it has also added new and often unexpected ones. Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) arising from the combustion of fossil fuels have been the main cause of anthropogenic global warming. All energy technologies, whether they are fossil-based or not, consume resources, use land and boundaries are being breached for a range of essential Earth-system processes, including in terms of global warming and biodiversity loss, which is likely to lead to catastrophic environmental change.  Despite two decades of climate change policies; thousands of programmes, initiatives, regulations, market-based instruments and international agreements; and the disbursement of hundreds of billions o...