Insulation - the most energy efficient 'low hanging fruit'
07/May/2007
The latest report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been endorsed by the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand (ICANZ).
The IPCC found that : "Energy efficiency options for new and existing buildings could considerably reduce CO2 emissions with net economic benefit." (IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group III, 'Summary for Policymakers', p. 18).
Dennis D'Arcy, ICANZ President, said the IPCC report had particular relevance to Australia.
"Of all the greenhouse gas reduction options facing governments worldwide, energy efficiency has been described as the 'low hanging fruit'. In Australia, retrofitting insulation into the 40 percent of homes that are uninsulated must be the ripest fruit of all," Mr D'Arcy said.
"Retrofitting insulation into uninsulated Australian homes is a low cost climate change response ripe for picking. It will deliver immediate and substantial greenhouse gas reductions for Australia," he said.
Australia's housing stock is among the least energy efficient in the developed world, and policies that seek to redress this situation are in the best interests of Australia.
