Energy efficiency through Green Investment Schemes

Buildings typically hide a large and cost-effective potential for saving carbon dioxide through energy efficiency improvements. However, numerous barriers make the opportunities for energy saving in buildings difficult to capture. The project-based mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol do not seem to adequately cover energy efficiency activities in the building sector. Green Investment Schemes (GIS) as an innovative instrument offer promising solutions but the main question is how they could be practically designed for this purpose. The work examines the applicability of GIS with respect to energy efficiency projects in buildings. First, it looks at the prospects of GIS as a policy mitigation instrument in Bulgaria and identifies the existing barriers to energy efficiency in the Bulgarian building sector. Then it discusses the possibilities for GIS to cover energy efficiency activities in buildings, and particularly how certain elements of GIS can overcome the specific barriers to energy efficiency in this sector. The book concludes with recommendations for possible GIS design options. It should be especially useful to professionals in climate change and energy efficiency fields.