Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Development
Together with our partners, this programme supports progress on energy efficiency by matching energy efficiency solutions to country and sector needs, supporting increased political commitment, setting a clear narrative with enhanced knowledge products as well as driving the development of a central fund for technical assistance and the implementation of energy efficiency solutions.
As energy efficiency is not "visible", it is often not given the policy and investment priority it needs to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals. As a result, the energy efficiency rate of improvement has declined, leaving it well below the level needed to achieve the SDG 7.3 target. However, energy efficiency has the potential to cost-effectively contribute 40 percent of the emissions savings goals of the Paris Agreement, and it will accelerate SDG 7.1 energy access progress.
Activities
As a founding partner of the Three Percent Club, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) will support countries to convene, commit, strategize, learn, implement and communicate energy efficiency progress.
While much of the commitment needs are economy-wide, investment needs are within each sector, where SEforALL will partner through the Three Percent Club to deliver investment in sustainable
- buildings
- cities
- industry
- transport
- products and services
to support achieving sustainability in cross-sector activities including cooking, cooling, education, food, gender equality, health, jobs and productivity that support the Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals
SEforALL will support partners and countries to increase or redirect spending to cost-effective energy efficiency investments with a goal of achieving nearly USD 600 billion per year of new investment by 2025 (a sharp increase from the USD 240 billion invested in 2019). To support this goal, activities over the next three years will include working with partners to support public commitments in 20 countries, support training on energy efficiency for 40 countries, and generating evidence and a clear narrative of energy efficiency with enhanced tools and resources accessible to more people in more countries.
What are the greatest barriers to the implementation of the UN's and EU's most ambitious frameworks? How can global access to renewable energy be guaranteed for all, including for those in the most vulnerable communities? During the Start Up Energy Transition Week 2020, Brian Dean (Head of Energy Efficiency and Cooling at SEforALL), Patrick Child (Deputy Director-General in DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission), James Grabert (Director, Mitigation at the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat) and moderator Ifeoma Malo (Chief Executive Officer, Clean Tech Hub, Nigeria) discussed the shift towards an equitable, reliable and sustainable energy system of tomorrow.
A new publication by the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (C2E2) and the Global ESCO network shows how energy service companies (ESCOs) can help ramp up energy efficiency investments to reach Paris Agreement climate goals. This new edition of the UNEP DTU Partnership Perspective series shows the way to ensure a thriving energy efficiency business with expert advice and insights from four regions around the globe.
This report explores how sustainable energy access and low-carbon mobility can be developed together to deliver new sustainable services for those previously underserved.
