Paris, France, 31 October 2018: The African Union Commission attended the International Energy Agency’s third annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency, a high-level forum for global engagement and exchange on energy efficiency, which was held on 25 and 26 October 2018 in Paris, France.

The aim of the Global Conference is to share insights and experiences on how to increase action and maintain momentum on energy efficiency in the context of a slow-down in global energy intensity improvements and resurgent CO2 emissions.

The African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid started her remarks on a positive note highlighting that the levels of energy intensity in Africa have improved substantially over the past fifteen years.

“Most energy trends of Africa are generally on the right track, however investments towards promoting energy access, power generation and distribution as well as energy efficiency need to be further enhanced and accelerated in order to keep up with the compounding challenges of population and economic growth in order to close the access gap, and achieving social and environmental sustainability,” the Commissioner emphasized.

The Commissioner explained that the African Union Commission is looking forward to improving statistics on energy and gender especially “women and energy”, “youth and energy” and data on clean cooking fuels.

She also highlighted the digital transformation in Africa and ways it is promoting smart consumption and new patterns and business models in energy.

“It is critical to establish statistical evidence linking these issues to livelihood improvements including job creation. This will help decision makers formulate policies that motivate women and youth into playing a greater role in the energy sector,” the Commissioner uttered.

The International Energy Agency’s third annual Global Conference proceedings was informed by the most extensive analysis the IEA has ever conducted on energy efficiency. Energy Efficiency 2018, the latest in the IEA’s energy efficiency market report series, was released one week prior to the conference. The report features a World Energy Outlook Efficient World Scenario (EWS), which sheds light on how energy efficiency can reduce global energy demand by 2040 across all key economic sectors while delivering multiple non-energy benefits.
The first day of the conference was devoted to panel discussions featuring global efficiency leaders, who explored in detail some of the most current and critical efficiency topics. Day two featured Ministers, CEOs, leaders of international organisations and other dignitaries, who shared their views on the importance of energy efficiency for their countries and organisations.
The meeting convened dignitaries and leaders from across the globe including ministers and high-level government officials, business leaders, financial institutions and civil society gathering from over 40 countries to advance the dialogue on energy efficiency, with a focus on action and delivery of scalable, impactful efficiency policies and programmes.
Meanwhile, H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid met the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Dr. Fatih Birol on the margins of the Conference, where they discussed fast-tracking the implementation of the MoU between the two institutions signed in May 2018 and the preparation of the proposed 1st African Ministerial Meeting on Energy Efficiency scheduled for May 2019.

She also held bilateral meetings with the Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing of Finland, Mr. Kimmo Tiilikainen and the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology of Estonia, Mr Rene Tammist where they discussed areas of collaboration in energy and boosting private sector participation in the implementation of regional projects.

For further information:
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Website: http://www.au.int
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