U.S falls in international energy efficiency scorecard
The U.S. now ranks 11th in energy efficiency policy and performance according to the released American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) 2025 assessment. The ACEEE International Energy Efficiency Scorecard ranks the top 25 highest energy-consuming countries on their energy efficiency policies and performance. The council weighs 38 distinct metrics, across four different chapters: national efforts, buildings, industry, and transportation. A country could earn up to 25 points in each chapter, for a maximum of 100 possible points.
In the 2025 scorecard, the U.S. fell one place in rankings despite a slight increase (3 points) in overall score. “The lower rank is due to larger point gains among the top performers,” said the scorecards’ evaluators. The U.S.’s “model energy codes are among the most advanced globally,” the report said. “These codes include a comprehensive set of design and performance requirements for building envelopes and energy systems, and they are projected to deliver $138 billion in energy cost savings and avoid 900 million metric tons of CO2 emissions cumulatively from 2010 to 2040.”
