Cop28: demand-side carbon reduction is low-hanging fruit in climate-change fight, says Schneider Electric
- Countries, companies and citizens should step up demand-side efforts to reduce carbon footprint, says Schneider’s Olivier Blum
- Technologies to cut these emissions are available now, while transformation of energy infrastructure will take decades, he says
The world is missing out on a significant amount of relatively easy decarbonisation opportunities, something it can ill afford to do given that the transition to low-carbon energy supply will take decades to achieve, according to Schneider Electric.
Countries, companies and citizens should step up demand-side efforts to curtail energy consumption and reduce carbon footprint, said Olivier Blum, executive vice-president at the French digital automation and energy management firm. The good news, he added, is that the technology to do so already exists.
These technologies can drive electrification of home and transport energy use, revamping of industry processes, and circularity of materials used in manufacturing, he said. Examples of demand-side measures to cut carbon include the use of digital technology and smart sensors to switch appliances off or into power-saving modes, better insulation of buildings and the use of heat reflecting technology to reduce the need for air conditioning.
“We know it is complicated and difficult to go through the decarbonisation journey, but there are many solutions available today,” Blum said. “Let’s look at what we can do in the next three years to have a significant impact.”