Heavy industries such as cement, chemicals or metals could step up energy efficiency by a quarter while cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to a third, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday. They could be made more energy-efficient by upgrading the engines used in factories, including adjustable speed drives, steam systems and combined heat and power, and by recycling materials, the IEA -- an adviser to 26 industrialised nations -- said in a study.

It estimated there was potential for technical efficiency improvements of 18-26 percent for manufacturing industry worldwide and said energy savings could be larger if new technologies were taken into account. "The potential is so large that more efforts are warranted, in order to achieve deep CO2 emission reductions, reduce fossil fuel dependence and increase industrial competitiveness," IEA Chief Claude Mandil said. Manufacturing industries use nearly a third of world energy production while releasing 36 percent of the global emissions of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Chemicals, petrochemicals, iron and steel, cement, paper and pulp, along with other minerals and metals, account for more than two thirds of this amount. The most efficient industries are often in emerging economies where production is expanding, the IEA added. "For example, the most efficient aluminium smelters are in Africa, and Brazil is among the most efficient cement producers," the IEA said, adding that some of the most efficient steel plants could be found in China.

China accounts for 80 percent of the growth in both industrial production and CO2 emissions during the past 25 years. A Dutch government-funded agency said last week that China had overtaken the United States as the top CO2 emitter because of surging energy needs to fuel its economic development.

China points out that emissions measured per head of population are still far higher in the United States and other rich industrialised countries. "The fact that China came out first is no surprise," Claude Mandil said. "But China per capita is still quite low compared with OECD countries and the United States." Mandil noted much of what China produces is consumed in rich countries. "It does not mean China has nothing to do on energy efficiency and of course it is not globally very well placed," Mandil added.

(By Muriel Boselli, Planet Ark, 26/6/2007)