UNEP’s United for Efficiency (U4E) hosted its annual Partners’ Meeting on 3–4 December in Paris. The event brought together around 35 representatives from governments, industry, regional centres of excellence, financial institutions, and international organizations to shape the next phase of cooperation on energy-efficient products and systems.  

The meeting opened with remarks from Ruth do Coutto, Deputy Director of UNEP’s Climate Change Division, and Hongpeng Lei, Chief of the Climate Change Mitigation Branch, who underscored the central role of energy efficiency in the global climate agenda. They recognized the challenges facing multi-lateral initiatives more broadly, while underscoring that work in the efficiency domain brings stability and resiliency, so it is ever more critical.  

They highlighted the strong political momentum following recent G20 and COP28 commitments under the Global Energy Efficiency Pledge for 2030 and cited findings from the IEA’s latest report noting that efficiency is a strategic pillar for climate mitigation, energy security, and sustainable development. Their reflections on the importance of U4E and its partnerships with those present set the stage for the discussions that followed, reinforcing how our work aligns with evolving international priorities. 

Setting the Scene: Global Momentum for Energy Efficiency  

Building on these opening remarks, U4E’s Programme Managers, Brian Holuj and Patrick Blake, stressed that this growing international momentum is translating into concrete action on the ground. U4E’s Model Regulation Guidelines (MRGs) continue to expand in influence, with more than 60 countries now referencing or adopting them as part of national or regional policy frameworks. They also noted that digitalisation, stronger private-sector engagement, and new methodologies for carbon footprint certification are becoming increasingly important for effective market transformation—particularly as countries prepare for new regulatory mechanisms and climate reporting. 

From the industry and funder perspectives, speakers reiterated that energy efficiency remains the foundation of global decarbonisation efforts and a unifying theme across sectors. They highlighted rapid innovation in cooling, heating, and digital infrastructure, and emphasised the essential role of improved communications and clear storytelling to support policy adoption, strengthen long-term compliance, and mobilise broader stakeholder engagement. 

National and Regional Progress Across Continents  

The U4E team and partners shared progress from across Southeast Asia, Africa, Brazil, and China, illustrating both the diversity of national contexts and the common challenges faced in advancing energy-efficient markets.

Countries shared a range of practical experiences and areas where U4E can support. In Southeast Asia, ASEAN governments are working toward greater harmonisation of MEPS and exploring the development of a regional Product Registration System to support market transparency and compliance.  

Progress in Africa included the adoption of cooling MEPS in Mauritius and ongoing regional harmonisation efforts within both the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC). Nigeria showed how MEPS and labels can deliver major energy and economic gains, and how off-grid refrigeration solutions can be deployed to help enhance rural livelihoods and wellbeing. 

Participants also expressed interest in scaling successful commercial refrigeration technical assistance in Brazil and on lighting in Tunisia to additional regions, alongside insights from China’s Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling programme.   

Advancing Market Surveillance and Compliance  

A central theme throughout the meeting was the growing urgency to strengthen market monitoring, verification and enforcement systems to ensure policies and programmes realise intended benefits. Across all geographies, participants emphasised the need to ensure compliance, including leveraging new testing capacity such as the environmental test chamber just installed at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain in Rwanda, and the use of mutual recognition agreements, among other approaches. Moreover, there are significant opportunities to leverage sustainable public procurement frameworks to drive long-term market transformation. 

Partners stressed that regional testing facilities and shared infrastructure could significantly lower implementation barriers for many countries. At the same time, tools such as Country Savings Assessments remain essential for demonstrating the economic and climate impacts to donors and policymakers.   

Discussions also underscored the importance of aligning MEPS with emerging green finance taxonomies to unlock new funding opportunities. They encouraged bundling surveillance and enforcement needs into multi-country initiatives to mobilise resources more effectively.  

New Strategic Opportunity Areas Announced

Looking ahead, U4E introduced four emerging areas of potential work designed to respond to rapidly evolving market and technology trends. The first focuses on sustainable data centres and AI, including developing procurement guidance, model regulations, and siting recommendations to help governments address rising electricity demand from digital infrastructure. The second explores larger-capacity cooling solutions, with an emphasis on chillers, condensing units, rooftop units, and other system-level efficiency opportunities.   

A third workstream proposes new tools to support system-scale energy transition planning, combining mapping, demand-side insights, and productive-use strategies. The final discussion highlighted partners’ interest in establishing a manufacturer engagement platform to improve market transparency, secure stronger industry commitments, and facilitate the exchange of policy updates, such as MEPS revisions and the transition to low-GWP refrigerants. Participants suggested that such a platform should also involve component suppliers and manufacturers of reversible heat pumps to better reflect evolving market dynamics. Affordability was identified as a persistent but known barrier to adopting higher-efficiency products, which is being addressed through projects like AGORA, and partners noted that greater transparency, along with coordinated bulk procurement by governments, could help reduce costs.   

Commitment to Continued Collaboration

The meeting concluded with partners reaffirming their commitment to U4E’s mission and to working collaboratively to advance regional and global energy-efficiency goals. Participants highlighted the importance of maintaining regular exchanges, both virtually and in person, to sustain momentum, foster alignment, and ensure strong follow-through on the priorities identified during the meeting.