Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director, IEA, called for long-term strategies for energy efficiency to be put into place, and launched IEA's Building Energy Efficiency Policies (BEEP) database to act as “one-stop shop for buildings energy efficiency policies.”
16 March 2012: At a workshop co-organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), titled “The Bumpy Road to Effective Implementation of Buildings Energy Efficiency Policies,” Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director, IEA, called for a global reduction in the amount of energy consumed in buildings in order to strengthen energy security and combat climate change.
Underscoring the need for buildings to be more energy efficient at the workshop, on 16 March 2012, in Paris, France, she noted that “energy efficiency policies for buildings should be based on a long-term strategy with ambitious targets for consumption reduction in both new and existing buildings.” Energy consumption in buildings is set to increase from the 2008 figure of 40% due to, among others, increases in: global population; climate change, due to a greater demand for cooling in buildings; and a rise in personal wealth, driving up the demand for appliances.
At the workshop, the IEA and WBCSD formally agreed to strengthen their collaboration in a range of areas relating to sustainable energy policies and technologies, including policies in this buildings sector, transport and renewable sectors, and policies and measures that address climate change. Maria van der Hoeven and Peter Bakker, President of WBCSD, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which will provide a framework for this cooperation, which will include reviewing and analyzing energy policies and issues as well as exchanging policy, technical and research information.
Announcing the Agency’s new initiatives on sustainable energy policies and technologies in the building sector at the workshop, van Hoeven also launched IEA’s Building Energy Efficiency Policies (BEEP) database. BEEP was created to act as “one-stop shop for buildings energy efficiency policies.” Through BEEP, policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders will have access to policies being implemented, including on: building energy codes, building energy labels, and incentives schemes for capacity building, technical assistance and raising awareness. [IEA Press Release] [BEEP Database]