The Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency participated in a number of different capacities at the EE Global Forum on 11-12 May in Washington, DC. The event, organised by the Alliance to Save Energy, is a well-established annual gathering of energy efficiency leaders that come together to discuss how utilities, regulators, legislators and companies are incorporating cost-effective energy efficiency measures into their operations. Sustainable Energy for All was well represented at EE Global through keynote remarks by new CEO, Rachel Kyte, and panel presentations by Chief Partnerships Officer, Sandrine Dixson-Declève and other SE4All staff. The Copenhagen Centre organised a two-hour Intensive Learning Session to showcase the Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, and to outline the activities of each Accelerator as a replicable, scalable example of public private partnership for energy efficiency implementation. The Copenhagen Centre also convened a meeting of top SE4All management and Accelerator partners and co-convenors, to discuss strategy for implementing the EE objectives of SE4All. Throughout EE Global, existing partnerships were strengthened and new connections were forged with key initiatives such as the Global Alliance for Energy Productivity and the newly launched EP 100 initiative, with whom SE4All intends to work closely on engaging the private sector in energy efficiency implementation, towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The Copenhagen Centre in partnership with the 10 Year Framework Programmes (10YFP) also convened a panel discussion on the role of energy efficiency in sustainable tourism. The panellists included Prashant Kapoor (IFC), Justin Locke (RMI), Walter Vergara (WRI), Thibaud Voita (SE4All), David McGeown (McGeown Associates), and John Christensen (UDP), who moderated the session. Sustainable Tourism is one of the six programmes of the 10YFP and they are now preparing to integrate energy efficiency in the programme. Setting the tone for the session, John Christensen highlighted importance of tourism, that includes transport and buildings (accommodation and restaurants), with about 10% contribution to GDP and 5% to CO2 emissions, and also illustrated enormous potential for savings through energy efficiency in the Caribbean, where tourism is a major sector. The panellists covered a wide range of issues ranging from challenges and policies to tools to support integration of energy efficiency in tourism and best practice examples. The role of the government in creating awareness and inducing behavioural changes, and as a finance facilitator for energy efficiency was highlighted by Thibaud Voita. Potential for savings from buildings was brought out by Prashant Kapoor, who also introduced audience “Edge”, an interesting tool that can help hotels to investigate various options for energy efficiency. With his rich experience of working with Small Island countries, where tourism contributes significantly to their economies, Justin Locke brought out the importance of energy efficiency for them, considering the very high cost of energy and dependence on fuels like diesel. Walter Vergara made a strong case for use of renewables for power supply, improving efficiency of water use, and use of electric transport in tourism industry in the Caribbean, while David McGeown presented the CARICOM integrated utility company model, which illustrated how the clean energy can be integrated in the tourism sector.