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Energy efficiency has community-wide benefits, such as the creation of jobs and lower bills
More reliable and affordable energy in cities can help reduce vulnerability and increase communities’ capacity to cope with the impacts of disasters and climate change, as well as other shocks, according to experts
“Energy efficiency is a systems resource when it comes to resilience, so not only does it strengthen energy systems themselves but also strengthens the communities served by those systems,” said David Ribeiro, senior analyst, ACEEE (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy), a non-profit organisation working to advance energy efficiency.
“Energy efficiency simply means using less energy to provide the same services, reducing energy intensity and thereby creating more resilient cities," he said at a session on strengthening energy systems at ICLEI’s Resilient Cities forum in Bonn this week.
“From exploring the benefits it is clear that energy efficiency has tangible impacts on resilience,” said Ribeiro. “You may not think of it but energy efficiency has benefits when it comes to emergency response and recovery, essentially helping to keep the lights on and keeping people safe when the power is out.
He said there were also "everyday resilience" benefits in energy efficiency, such as helping to reduce chronic economic and social stresses that affect people's capacity to cope.
Energy efficiency is construction is crucial, the experts agreed.
High performance energy efficient buildings hold their temperature for the longest amount of time, with interior temperatures only lowering by 10 degrees over the course of a week, while less efficient buildings loose their temperature at a much faster rate. This can have significant impacts on vulnerable people, such as the elderly or disabled, when faced with severe winter storms.
Energy efficient buildings also reduce annual spending, meaning that households or businesses can reinvest those savings in other resilience needs.
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