Energy Efficiency in Powering Agriculture

Overview

The global potential for energy savings is enormous, reaching up to 50 per cent in developing countries and transition economies. Energy efficiency is an integral part of sustainable energy management in order to reduce energy consumption and decouple it from economic growth.

Energy efficiency can lead to ecological and economic win-win situations. Lower costs for industry increase both competitiveness and job security. Also private households benefit, an impact that particularly benefits the poorer segments of a community, who frequently spend a disproportionately large portion of their income on energy. Further, everyone benefits from the positive effects on the climate and environment that result from lower greenhouse gas emissions and the reduced consumption of natural resources (GIZ, Energy Efficiency).

Energy efficiency measures must target areas where energy is actually “consumed”: energy production, transmission and distribution, buildings, industry, private households, municipal facilities, and the transport sector. One key sector is the agriculture and food sector, which consumes about 30% of the global energy. This page shall serve as an overview page of articles relating to energy efficiency within the agriculture and food sector.