High Level Thematic Plenary – Energy Efficient Products

The energy efficiency product market presents a significant opportunity for countries to support economic development, achieve climate targets, support efforts to alleviate poverty, and accelerate progress on social issues, such as promoting gender equality and youth engagement. There are, however, many challenges ahead. This High-Level Plenary on ‘Energy Efficient Products’ will explore the action-oriented solutions that have emerged to encourage the large-scale adoption of energy efficient products to enable mass market access, shedding light on the potential of energy efficient products to positively impact the lives of women.
Smart energy efficiency policy design not only reduces energy demand, but can also be a catalyst for product innovation and job creation. Panel 1 on ‘Sustainability Versus Profitability’ will discuss the enabling factors for product innovation, such as youth engagement, digitalization, and technical support for local entrepreneurs. Panelists will discuss proven policy and regulatory interventions to encourage market development, as well as the need for social innovation to ensure that women and youth can equally lead, benefit and access energy efficient products.
The affordability of energy efficient products remains a key barrier to adoption, as consumers weigh long-term cost reductions, against higher upfront costs. Affordable, efficient products are of utmost importance in areas where energy access is unreliable or nonexistent, as efficiency improves the effective output from a given level of energy supply. The objectives of SDG 7 can only be achieved by creating a marketplace that can provide options for all income levels, also considering women and other vulnerable groups. Panel 2 on ‘Affordability Matters’ will explore the importance of deploying innovative business models to create large-scale market pull, and reduce barriers for entry for both entrepreneurs and users of any gender, age, and race.