As I reflect on the past two weeks, I am struck by the overwhelming global interest in using building energy efficiency as a cost-effective, short-term methodology to reduce carbon emissions, as well as a long-term bridge to a clean energy future.  This interest comes from around the globe where it is viewed as a way of reducing current emissions in the developed world through building retrofits, or as a way of reducing future emissions in the developing world through building codes and equipment standards.  The latest International Energy Agency World Energy Outlook indicates that about two-thirds of the carbon savings required to avoid more than 450 PPM of CO2 by 2050 will come from energy efficiency.  In a separate study, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that 80 percent of the carbon mitigation actions with a negative cost (i.e., that pay for themselves through savings) are in the building sector. » More: Buildings are key to successful implementation of the Copenhagen agreement

From Eco-Journey

Clay Nesler, Vice President for Global Energy and Sustainability at Johnson Controls, told about retrofitting the Empire State Building that achieved significant enough reductions to reduce the payback period to three years.

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