Well the answer to that question is a resounding yes. One of the world’s leading producers of energy efficient solutions is ABB, who as a company are already helping to deliver major power savings without compromising performance.

ABB are able to supply lighting control systems that can deliver power savings of up to 50% and building automation that can save 60%, for instance.

So what exactly is holding countries around the world back from adopting this new generation of energy efficiency you might ask.

It is certainly something that the world’s energy professionals feel strongly enough about, indeed in a recent survey conducted by Bloomberg Businessweek Research Service and sponsored by ABB, an incredible 89% of respondents believed that government incentives trump markets in driving energy efficiency uptake by consumers.

‘Smart grid’ solutions facilitate the use of renewable energy and can help reduce energy demand, making them an increasingly attractive option.

Energy industry experts around the world are well aware of this and are stepping up calls for governments across the globe to take some positive action by offering incentives to further drive the adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Stronger policies that are most favored by industry stakeholders are those that focus first on improving and incentivizing smart grid technology and then funding energy efficiency measures and setting minimum energy efficiency standards.

Taken together, making efficiency a valued resource means applying the resources of government to prime the energy efficiency pump.

It is reassuring that there are companies like ABB who are already ahead of the game in delivering efficient and renewable energy technologies through new ’smart grids’ that are capable of integrating energy from various resources and distributing the power with minimal loss.

They are also involved with new technologies that will allow energy storage from renewable energy systems such as wind and solar power in the UK as well as creating the longest power transmission link in Brazil, where the power will be transported over 2,500 kilometres with 93% efficiency.

Now it is time for governments to start paying attention by listening to what the energy professionals have to say and maybe there will be a brighter future for us all with systems that not only use renewable energy but can also cut CO2 emissions and reduce consumption in cities by 30%.

Gates has used much of the personal wealth accumulated through Microsoft to form and support the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an  organisation focused on the eradication of  some of the major diseases threatening people across the planet in all walks of life.

In a forum at Oslo’s Opera House, Bill & Melinda Gates spoke of their passion for the foundation and the progress that has already been made, saying that the eradication of  Polio, for instance, was in reach and that every effort should be made to ensure that the disease is wiped out.

“We have to get rid of polio because if we don’t, it will spread back and we will have millions affected,” he said.

Melinda Gates said that eradicating HIV/AIDS was a top priority and that a vaccine against the disease would be the ‘Holy Grail’ for AIDS, while Bill suggested that it would probably be 10 to 15 years before that would happen.

Earlier Bill Gates had said that he was a great believer that great wealth should go from the richest to the poorest and suggested that other billionaires should try it.

“I think all billionaires should give away the vast majority of their fortunes – though I don’t say they shouldn’t leave anything to their kids, I think they would enjoy it, their kids would be better off, and the world would be better off.”