The Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative and Japan, host of the SE4All Energy Efficiency Facilitation Hub in the Energy Conservation Centre Japan (ECCJ), are working to promote energy efficiency in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 on energy.
During the month of October, three SE4All outreach events were held, highlighting the role municipalities and the private sector can play in unlocking energy efficiency potential, drawing on Japan's experience in this area.
6 November 2015: The Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative and Japan, host of the SE4All Energy Efficiency Facilitation Hub in the Energy Conservation Centre Japan (ECCJ), are working to promote energy efficiency in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 on energy. During the month of October, three SE4All outreach events were held, highlighting the role municipalities and the private sector can play in unlocking energy efficiency potential, drawing on Japan’s experience in this area.
On 27 October 2015, Toyama City, Japan, hosted the fifth International Forum of the Future City Initiative, which featured SE4All for the first time. Case studies presented at the Forum focused on challenges facing developed world cities, such as meeting energy demand, creating low-carbon societies, spurring sustainable green growth, building, restoring and reconstructing infrastructure, caring for an aging population, and sustainable city planning. The event emphasized the links between SDG 11 on cities and SDG 7. The next Future Cities Forum will be held in Portland, US in February 2016.
Toyama, which was one of the first cities to join the SE4All Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, also hosted the first national SE4All Forum on 28 October 2015. The Forum, which brought together academia, government, municipalities, businesses and civil society, was dedicated to SE4All, its objectives and SDG 7. Speakers at the event highlighted that with growing urbanization, cities will largely determine whether or not the world meets its global goals on energy efficiency.
Lastly, the SE4All Global Energy Efficiency Forum on Cities, held 29-30 October 2015, was organized by the Government of Japan and ECCJ in Tokyo, Japan. At the event, energy practitioners and policy experts presented solutions and case studies on improving energy efficiency in urban settings. The Forum’s three themes were: energy savings in buildings, especially evaluation standards; urban transportation systems; and district energy systems focusing on area energy management systems, including demand response and energy efficiency of cities and their industrial areas. Indonesia announced it would host the 2016 Forum in Bali. [SE4All Press Release] [Future City Initiative Website] [SE4All Global Energy Efficiency Forum on Cities Webpage]