Germany ranked top for energy efficiency

Germany is the most energy efficient country in the world, with Italy and Japan tied in second place, followed by France and the UK in fourth and fifth, according to the 2016 International Energy Efficiency Scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The report ranks nations using 35 policy and performance metrics spread over four categories: buildings, industry, transportation, and national efforts. The latter measures overall or cross-cutting indicators of energy use at the national level.

Germany scored the most points for national efforts, buildings and industry – while India tied with Italy and Japan for first place in transportation. The report notes that the US still has room for improvement, coming behind most of the EU countries in terms over overall performance.

The maximum possible score for a country was 100, with ACEEE awarding 25 points in each of the four categories. Points were allocated in each category based on how each country performed relative to others.

However, Germany has the potential to do more, according to Rob Compton, Manager of Energy Efficiency and Smart Cities at the federal economic development agency Germany Trade & Invest: ‘In the long term, we can expect Germany to step up its efforts as it moves towards its target of halving primary energy consumption by 2050.’

Combined, the assessed countries represent 75% of all the energy consumed on the planet and over 80% of the world’s GDP.