Description:

Energy Efficiency Virtual Expert Panel – A Powerful Decarbonization Approach

The UIC Energy Initiative and the E2S Climate Hub are hosting a virtual expert panel in honor of National Energy Awareness Month, World Energy Days and Campus Sustainability Awareness Month.

The virtual panel will be held via Zoom, it is free and the event is open to everyone!

The panel and subsequent Q&A discussion will touch on different facets and scales of energy efficiency as a powerful approach for decarbonization, including topics such as campus, local and regional efforts to improve energy efficiency across sectors. The panel will consist of three expert speakers on energy efficiency including one of our campus efforts — the Industrial Assessment Center, which will present on their nationally recognized work as well as their new pilot program for buildings.

BACKGROUND
Energy is utilized across different sectors and different scales – buildings, transportation, industry, and energy generation. Thus, energy efficiency* is an essential part of a decarbonized future.

*Energy efficiency simply means using less energy to perform the same task, regardless of size or scale.

Buildings are responsible for 35-40% of energy-related carbon emissions in the U.S. since 1990. In order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, all buildings – new and existing – must be net zero carbon by 2050 (World Resources Institute, 2019.) Buildings present an opportunity for reducing carbon emissions – through scalable solutions to improve energy efficiency across the entire building sector.

Energy efficiency not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions, demand for energy imports, and consumer costs on every level; it is also currently the cheapest and fastest way to reduce fossil fuel usage.