13 October 2015: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) DTU Partnership (UDP) has published a report, titled ‘The Multiple Benefits of Measures to Improve Energy Efficiency,’ analyzing the various benefits of national energy efficiency programmes. The report comes as Parties to the UNFCCC are preparing their national climate action plans for the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21). UDP highlights that energy efficiency is a critical mitigation option for meeting emission reduction commitments.

The report combines energy modeling with a survey of 25 national energy efficiency programmes, projecting energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 2030 globally and for Group of Twenty (G20) countries. According to the findings, well-designed programmes not only lower GHG emissions but also provide health and well-being, energy security and employment benefits.

In its main conclusions, the report notes that, while efficiency in energy transformation, distribution and use generally improves even without targeted efficiency policies, introducing such policies can unlock much larger energy savings and associated benefits.

In addition, the report finds that monitoring these benefits can trigger the development of additional programmes and improve their design, yet, most benefits are often not quantified. Lastly, the authors conclude that the design of these programmes should emphasize targeted information provision and capacity-building activities, noting such activities are often not prioritized and lack sufficient human and financial resources. [UDP Press Release] [Publication: The Multiple Benefits of Measures to Improve Energy Efficiency]