On November 10-11, United for Efficiency (U4E) marked its 15th anniversary with its first in-person gathering since the pandemic. Held at UNEP’s Paris office, the event brought together 22 partners, including governments, funders, development banks, NGOs, and academic institutions, to strengthen collaboration on energy efficiency initiatives and chart the programme’s future.
The meeting featured plenary sessions, breakout discussions, and bilateral meetings, offering participants a platform for in-depth exchanges. Ruth Zugman do Coutto, Deputy Director of UNEP’s Climate Change Division, opened the event by highlighting energy efficiency as a fast, cost-effective solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Key U4E achievements, such as the Model Regulation Guidelines and procurement tools, were celebrated, alongside a review of the programme’s 15-year journey, presented by U4E Programme Managers Brian Holuj and Patrick Blake.
Inspiring reflections were shared by Steve Kukoda of the International Copper Association as a founding partner of U4E and by Mirka Della Cava of the Clean Cooling Collaborative as a long-standing donor, with insights from their respective vantage points and encouragement to all involved to redouble collaborative efforts to bring this work to scale now that the foundational approach has been well defined and demonstrated in diverse settings.
Interactive sessions showcased U4E’s technical assistance work, including regional and national efforts in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as innovative Centres of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chains. Breakout discussions focused on regional and product-specific priorities, such as cooling equipment and distribution transformers, while participants shared reflections on expanding U4E’s scope to emerging areas like data centres.
The event concluded with remarks from Miriam Suarez Hinostroza, Head of UNEP’s Global Climate Action Unit, and bilateral meetings to advance key partnerships. Key takeaways included:
- Build on U4E’s proven track record through the Integrated Policy Approach with global, regional, and national/local interventions.
- Include new priority product areas in addition to updating existing content and practices, maintaining U4E’s focus on practical, applied technical assistance to enable lasting market transformation remains at the core of the initiative.
- Increase awareness of U4E through participation in high-level energy, climate, and environmental events, such as the SEforALL Forum, IEA Energy Efficiency Conference, Climate COP, and Montreal Protocol MOP.
Looking ahead, U4E plans to introduce regular update calls in the lead up to its next Partners’ Meeting for late 2025 to maintain momentum and strengthen collaborations.