Countries around the world have backed the economic, social and sustainability advantages of energy efficiency. In a joint statement issued at the IEA's Annual Global Conference on the issue in Brussels, ministers and senior officials representing 47 governments reaffirmed "the role energy efficiency plays to ensure affordable and secure energy services for our citizens, enhance competitiveness of our businesses, and safeguard the energy security of our nations."
The governments that jointly issued the statement declared that "after the historic agreement at COP28 to double energy efficiency progress by 2030, now is the time to deliver greater impact through stronger collective and national actions, and technological improvements across all sectors."
They also underscored "the need to strengthen energy efficiency action through implementation of effective policy" and identified "actions regarding affordability, better quality of life, and competitiveness that can deliver strong progress towards our overall goals while bringing the maximum benefits to all people as quickly as possible."
The statement followed from discussions at the 10th IEA Global Conference on Energy Efficiency, which convened almost 700 participants from close to 100 countries, including dozens of ministers and CEOs, as well representation from youth and labour movements. The Global Conference was co-chaired by European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, and was organised with the support of the Energy Efficiency Movement.
"Energy efficiency is at the heart of energy security," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "I'm encouraged by the unity on this among the many high-level participants at the IEA's 10th Annual Global Conference on Efficiency, as demonstrated by the joint statement from nearly 50 governments from around the world. There is broad agreement that both together, and as individual countries and companies, we can reap the benefits of what we at the IEA call 'the first fuel' - for lowering energy bills, bolstering competitiveness and energy security, and reducing emissions."
"Energy security, affordability and climate change are among the defining challenges of our time," said European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen, who at the conference detailed the EU's new impetus for energy efficiency. "Energy efficiency is a key solution for all of them. This is why we will double down on our actions both at home and globally to make sure no energy unit goes to waste. The cleanest and cheapest energy is the energy we don't use."
In their statement, ministers pledged to place people at the centre of clean energy transitions and to focus on energy efficiency policies that are fair, benefit everyone and leave no one behind. They also committed to "harness[ing] innovation and deploy[ing] digital technologies to maximise the benefits of energy efficiency - putting digitalisation at the heart of our modern energy systems, and in particular our industrial facilities, buildings and electricity systems."
Following on from the international Summit on the Future of Energy Security in London, ministers noted the importance of holistic approaches to energy security and recognised the importance of energy efficiency and demand-side measures in ensuring more secure energy.
They also acknowledged and drew upon new IEA research and tools including an updated Energy Efficiency Policy Toolkit, new analysis on the benefits of efficiency, and the publication Gaining an Edge: The Role of Energy Efficiency in Enhancing Competitiveness. In addition ministers asked the IEA to continue monitoring improvements in efficiency through its Energy Efficiency Progress Tracker.
