23 September 2019: A coalition of countries, businesses and institutions has announced its commitment to putting in place ambitious policies to help drive a 3% annual global increase in energy efficiency. The coalition reports that this target, which was announced at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, is necessary to meet global climate goals while enhancing economic prosperity in all countries.

The ‘Three Percent Club’ brings together 15 governments (Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Portugal, Senegal and the UK) and 13 businesses and international organizations to help put the world on a path to achieve the necessary annual energy efficiency improvements to meet the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Energy efficiency can help reduce emissions while improving people’s well-being.

Coalition participants will share and provide technical and financial support, including by leveraging the combined global resources of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the International Energy Agency (IEA), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Energy Efficiency Accelerators and Hub, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Energy Efficiency Global Alliance.

“Energy efficiency is the one energy resource that all countries share in abundance, and it can help reduce emissions while improving people’s well-being,” said Fatih Birol, Executive Director, IEA.

A Climate Action Summit press release notes that energy efficiency has the potential of delivering 40% of the emission reductions required to meet global climate goals. However, only a few countries make specific commitments to improve energy efficiency in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and, according to the IEA, the rate of improvement is currently slowing down (1.3% in 2018).

The Three Percent Club was launched under the Climate Action Summit’s Energy Transition Track. Its commitment to improving energy efficiency through ambitious policy measures aligns with the mission of the Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency, established by the IEA in July 2019. [Climate Action Summit Press Release on Coalition Launch] [Climate Action Summit Press Release on Expected Commitments] [IEA Press Release] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Climate Action Summit] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on ‘Cool Coalition’]