28 July 2016: A number of capacity-building projects, including workshops and a new center in Asia, have been announced and are geared toward helping developing countries adopt and standardize energy efficiency measures and expand the reach of renewable energy. Recently published reports also have the potential to serve as resources for several countries as they move toward a cleaner energy future. These initiatives, as emphasized by their sponsors, are important for achieving the climate objectives in the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG) related to clean energy and energy access.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), through the Canada Energy Sector Support for the Caribbean Fund, organized a workshop that took place from 13-15 July 2016, in Grenada. The event aimed to help Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries develop and adopt a Regional Energy Efficiency Building Code (REEBC) and Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS). During the workshop, titled ‘Energy Efficiency Standards and Regulations in Buildings,’ 55 stakeholders from 14 CARICOM member States brainstormed baseline codes and climatic zones to begin from, and considered how to promote buy-in and early adoption of the standards. [CDB Press Release]

The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) was also promoting a standard for building resource efficiency in July – this one for emerging markets. The Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) standard is IFC’s green building certification system that focuses on reducing energy usage. IFC announced that the Philippine Green Building Initiative (PGBI) will serve as the exclusive certification partner for EDGE in the Philippines. With buildings consuming 63% of the country’s energy supply, IFC’s green building programme is expected to cut the Philippines’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 1.9 million metric tons and save Filipinos 38 billion pesos per year by 2030. [IFC Press Release]

On the renewable energy front, IFC reported on a series of workshops it held in June to highlight prospects for increasing access to electricity from clean sources in Southeast Asia. Over 150 attendees in Singapore and London, UK, considered opportunities for private sector involvement, as well as obstacles to scaling up and diversifying the energy supply to meet the region’s needs. [IFC Press Release]

Some of these Southeast Asian countries, as well as some of their neighbors, making up the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, are set to benefit from a soon-to-be-established Himalayan Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. The project is being led by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), with funding from the Austrian Development Agency. Once established, the Centre is anticipated to help the region scale up efforts in “technology demonstration, investment and business promotion, rural energy policy development and implementation, capacity development, and knowledge and data management, as well as awareness-raising,” especially for off-grid and decentralized solutions. The HKH region includes all or parts of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. [UNIDO Press Release]

Two reports show positive potential for renewable energy in two areas, one developed and the other developing. In the Nordic countries, the IEA’s Nordic Energy Technology Perspectives 2016 predicts the region could nearly achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and even export clean electricity to the rest of Europe. However, the report emphasizes that, while the incremental investment necessary is “manageable” and the technical requirements are “feasible,” this will require a “dramatic restructuring” of the transport sector, as well as more flexibility in the energy system to incorporate more renewables and reductions in industrial GHG emissions.

In the Dominican Republic, an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report holds that the country can triple its renewable energy share by 2030. This would make renewables 27% of the energy mix, with the share of renewables in the power sector climbing to 44%. Estimating the necessary investment at US$566 million annually, the report suggests the resultant net savings would total US$5.3 billion annually by 2030 when human health and emissions reductions are taken into account. The report provides a number of recommendations that act as a roadmap to achieving the renewables potential outlined in the report. [IEA Press Release] [Nordic Energy Technology Perspectives 2016] [IRENA Press Release] [Renewable Energy Prospects: Dominican Republic – Executive Summary]