Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Development
Bali, 14.12.2007 - Peter Richards
At the UNFCCC event in Bali, the REEEP formally launched the Energy Efficiency Coalition (EEC) which aims to provide a voice to coalesce the energy efficiency industry in the international arena. The coalition will begin by guiding the REEEP project undertaken by Ecofys to establish a global Energy Efficiency Review which will be the first ever comprehensive review of energy efficiency policies and their impact. The Review will be published in mid-2008.
At the REEEP side event entitled “Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Development”, Mr. Franz josef Schafhausen, Deputy Director General for Environment and Energy at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety stated that a 30% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020 will require Germany to reduce emissions by 270 million tonnes per annum compared to emissions volume in 2006. The country has developed a robust strategy to achieve targets via energy conservation, renewable energy and more efficient coal stations.
Shen Longhai, Senior Director at the NDRC Energy Research Institute in China spoke about the importance of energy conservation for China. China is implementing economic policies aimed at saving energy and reducing pollutants. The government has appropriated RMB 21.3 billion to fund 10 key energy conservation projects in order to reduce 240 million tonnes of carbon equivalents. The country is also heavily promoting ESCOs and the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) model.
Debashish Majumdar, Chairman of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) spoke about India’s 12% energy supply gap during peak periods and the effect on the Indian economy. Energy efficiency is viewed as bringing competitive advantage to Indian companies while also contributing to the bottom line. From an energy security perspective, one unit of energy saved avoids 2.5 to 3.0 times of fresh capacity generated. The benefits of energy efficiency can be achieved for less than $250,000/MW. It is estimated that in the industrial sector there is the potential for annual savings of $1.25 billion annually.
In Bali, REEEP also conducted its Governing Board meeting where a new strategy for the Partnership was discussed which would see the partnership focused much more strategically on activities that directly tie into the value chain of ongoing sustainable energy transformation initiatives.
Energy Efficiency Coalition - Brochure 2008
Bali presentation - Mr. Longhai - NDRC China
Bali presentation - Mr. Majumdar - IREDA India
Bali presentation - Mr. Shafhausen - German Environment Ministry