Global public-private approach to city-level acceleration of energy efficiency in buildings

Panel: 3. Local action

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Ksenia Petrichenko, UNEP DTU, Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency
Debbie Weyl, World Resources Institute, USA
Eric Mackres, World Resources Institute, USA

Abstract

More than half of the world’s population already lives in cities. It is expected that within next 20 years this share will increase to two thirds. Cities consume 75% of world’s natural resources, accounting for 80% of global energy supply and 75% of global carbon emissions.

To accommodate future population and economic growth, energy use in cities is expected to increase exponentially during the next 25 years. This makes cities key to meeting the targets of the Paris Agreement and SDG 7: ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. However, city governments and stakeholders need tools and resources to improve the energy efficiency of buildings such as capacity building, national government guidance, and assistance in accessing funding for energy efficiency projects and policies – just to name a few.

The Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) under the Sustainable Energy for All initiative has created a network of peer cities and global organizations to tackle barriers to energy efficiency in buildings. The BEA provides technical assistance to municipal governments and supports policy and project development to accelerate energy efficiency in the building sector. To date the BEA works with 23 cities around the world driving policy change and market transformation towards higher levels of energy efficiency.

This paper presents the BEA’s approach for city-level support throughout the policy development cycle: from commitment through to implementation and improvement. This approach distinguishes between different levels of engagement based on the city’s needs and resources available. Work with cities is grounded on a global network of partners providing expertise, support for stakeholder engagement, capacity building and creation of knowledge products targeting city governments. The paper provides an overview of progress made in the selected cities to date and estimates for impact of the BEA’s activities.