Leaders from 15 countries and the European Commission met today for the first Policy Committee meeting of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) to promote global collaboration on energy-saving programs and policies. The partnership, launched at the G8 Energy Ministers Meeting held in Rome in May 2009, aims to forge partnerships among its member governments to address climate change, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and grow the global clean energy economy. “Our sole mission is advancing energy efficiency globally,” said Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the first chair of the Policy Committee. “Smart, efficient energy use has enormous potential to reduce energy demand, improve economic development and reduce emissions worldwide.”
Members of IPEEC include Brazil, Canada, China, the European Commission, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as Australia, who joined as a member during today’s meeting. Indonesia and South Africa also sent representatives to the meeting as observers.
IPEEC member countries have contributed more than $1.6 million to support six key initiatives that advance energy efficiency including the Worldwide Energy Efficiency Action through Capacity Building and Training Project that will help members share best practices for energy efficiency through on-site training workshops and online materials and the Super-Efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment Project, where members will collaborate on test methods to measure appliance efficiency and coordinate incentives for manufacturers to provide more efficient equipment and appliances.
