International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Launched

May 27, 2009

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Joining other signatories from G8 nations, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has signed on to the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency.

The goal of the group is to promote global energy efficiency and encourage its market implementation.

Chu said that U.S. buildings use more energy than any other sector of the economy. He has challenged Department of Energy researchers to develop more efficient building designs, and he wants to extend the research into the energy partnership. The International Panel on Climate Change in 2007 stated that projected greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector could be slashed 30 percent by 2030 while producing a net economic benefit, according to a DOE press release.

The International Partnership for Energy Efficiency is intended to provide a forum for exchanging information, best practices, policies and measures that support energy efficiency efforts, with the goal of helping create so-called green jobs.

In addition to the entire Group of 8 (G8), which is made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States, other signatories include Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea.

The partnership will be headquartered in Paris at the offices of the International Energy Agency.

The group’s draft work plan includes:

establishing a Sustainable Buildings Network to promote efficiency in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings;
compiling and summarizing various national energy efficiency action plans;
creating an inventory and reviewing international energy efficiency initiatives;
improving methods for measuring and verifying progress toward domestic energy efficiency goals.

The partnership was among the results of the May 23-25 G8 Energy Ministers Meeting in Rome, where nations discussed boosting the implementation of energy efficiency measures, including new clean energy and energy efficiency technologies, ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the types of investments countries can make to grow their economies and promote global security and development.

In other climate and energy efficiency news, nations and businesses are gearing up for the next round of climate talks in Copenhagen this December.

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