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appliances, and the country also has set a standard for improved
biomass cook stoves. 118 Additionally, Uganda developed MEPS
for several appliances, and its National Bureau of Standards has
a testing laboratory to support appliance quality monitoring. 119
Many of the new standards set in 2015 were in the transport sector.
For example, a new EU mandate requires that all new passenger
cars registered from 2015 onwards consume no more than 5.6
litres per 100 km (l/km) of petrol or 4.9 l/100 km of diesel. By 2021,
this requirement will be further tightened to 4.1 l/100 km of petrol
or 3.6 l/100 km of diesel. 120 Japan also increased its performance
requirements under existing fuel-efficiency regulations for lightand
heavy-duty vehicles. 121 Saudi Arabia set new regulations
for light-duty vehicles to improve vehicle performance by 4%
annually, increasing from an average fuel economy of 8.3 l/100
km in 2015 to 5.3 l/100 km by 2025. 122 Uganda’s Fuel Efficiency
Initiative Programme supports the development of policies and
regulations that promote the use of fuel-efficiency vehicles. 123
Fiscal incentives – including rebates, tax reductions and lowinterest
loans – also have been employed to stimulate improvements
in energy efficiency. Italy is offering USD 382 million
(EUR 350 million) of soft financing for energy efficiency
improvements in public school and university buildings. 124
Lithuania is using structural funds from the EU to provide
investment incentives for industry to implement efficiency
measures between 2014 and 2020. 125 In 2015, Germany began
encouraging municipalities, municipal companies, religious
communities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
to implement energy performance contracting through the
provision of grants for consulting on related matters. 126
Spain introduced several programmes and allocated funds
to support fiscal incentives in 2015. Through its National
Energy Efficiency Fund (established in 2014), Spain allocated
USD 184 million (EUR 168 million) for energy renovation of
buildings, efficiency improvements in the transport and industrial
sectors, and more-efficient street lighting. 127 In addition, Spain
initiated the Efficient Vehicle Incentives Program, with a budget
of USD 191 million (EUR 175 million), to encourage the purchase
of new energy-efficient vehicles. 128 The country also launched a
subsidy scheme, allocating USD 219 million (EUR 200 million) for
energy efficiency improvements, including improving the thermal
insulation of buildings and advancing the efficiency of heating
and lighting systems. 129 Beyond Europe, Canada started to offer a
number of rebates for energy-efficient equipment in 2015, such as
ductless heat pumps, cold-climate ductless heat pumps, Energy
Star-certified refrigerators and efficient clothes washers. 130
In terms of financing, energy efficiency and renewable energy
actions often are considered within a broader area of clean or
sustainable energy, and, therefore, both types of projects can be
eligible under the same financing scheme. For example, in 2015,
the US Environmental Protection Agency introduced the Clean
Energy Incentive Program (CEIP) to reward early investments in
renewable energy generation and demand-side energy efficiency
measures that generate carbon-free energy or reduce end-use
energy demand by 2020 and/or 2021. 131 In terms of financial
incentive programmes that explicitly target both renewables
and efficiency, Nigeria’s National Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency Policy, adopted in April 2015, provides incentives for
selling, manufacturing and importing energy-efficient products,
while also promoting policies for renewable energy sources. 132
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