Energy efficiency goals

Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy joined leaders from 15 countries and the European Commission on 11^th May at the first Policy Committee meeting of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IEEC) to promote global collaboration on energy saving programs and policies. US participation in this partnership, launched at the G8 Energy Ministers Meeting, Rome in May 2009, continues the Obama Administration’s efforts to forge partnerships among governments to address climate change, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and grow the global clean energy economy.

At the meeting, Assistant Secretary Zoi was selected to serve a two year term as the first Chair of the IPEEC Policy Committee.‘Smart, efficient energy use has enormous potential to reduce energy demand, improve economic development, and reduce emissions worldwide,’ said Assistant Secretary Zoi. ‘We need to achieve unprecedented speed and scale in deploying energy saving practices and policies to meet our global challenges, and the IPEEC partnership is an extraordinary opportunity to ramp up this work.’

Over the past year, IPEEC member countries have contributed more than US$ 1.6 million in funding to support six key initiatives that advance energy efficiency.

Worldwide energy efficiency action through capacity building and training

The above project will help share best practices for energy efficiency through onsite training workshops and online materials. Italy has provided seed funding for this project, while training materials are being developed with technical assistance from the International Energy Agency and the US National renewable Energy Laboratory. Mexico will host the first onsite workshop later this year, which is expected to draw attendance from across the Americas. (Lead country: Italy)

Sustainable Buildings Network (SBN)
The SBN will connect numerous building efficiency organisations to focus on intelligent tropical architecture, zero energy buildings, and innovative policies to make existing buildings more efficient. The SBN has held a half dozen workshops, including an in depth review on May 10^th at the EE Global Forum with building experts from around the world. Energy efficiency in buildings offers one of the fastest, lowest cost opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Lead country: Germany)

Assessment of energy efficiency finance mechanisms
The above project will examine how energy efficiency efforts can better leverage financing from domestic sources, such as commercial banks. Examples of successful financing models, such as utility financing, energy performance savings contracts, and shared savings contracts, will be shared with countries that need expanded access to capital for energy efficiency investments. Private sector investment in efficiency will be critical to expanding these efforts. (Lead country: India)

Energy Management Action Network for Industrial Efficiency
Across the globe, manufacturing industries are recognising that meeting carbon reduction goals requires strong energy management at production facilities and along the full supply chain. The Energy Management Action Network for Industrial Efficiency will provide a forum for policy makers and industry leaders to share best practices for managing and reporting industrial energy consumption. (Lead country: Japan)

Improving policies through energy efficiency indicators
The above project will accelerate efforts to develop and implement methods for energy efficiency indicators that measure and report energy performance (e.g. energy consumption per t of steel produced). Governments use energy efficiency indicators to document energy productivity improvements and identify opportunities for additional energy savings. Consistent application of better efficiency indicators will help countries meet their energy and carbon reduction goals. (Lead country: France)

Super efficient equipment and appliance deployment
Increased use of lighting and appliances like TVs, air conditioners and refrigerators, is estimated to account for more than half of the future growth in electricity consumption. The above project is a global initiative launched with support of the Major Economics Forum (MEF) to collaborate on test methods to measure appliance efficiency and coordinate incentives for manufacturers to provide more efficient equipment and appliances which could dramatically reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions while saving consumers money. The US has committed up to US$ 3 million annually to support this project. (Lead country: US)

US Department of Energy

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