IEA holds training week to boost energy efficiency policy action in India

The International Energy Agency (IEA) held its India Energy Efficiency Policy in Emerging Economies Training Week in New Delhi from 11-15 December. Hosted in partnership with the India Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), and with support from the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE), it was the first to take place in India since 2018.

The training week brought together more than 150 policy makers and energy professionals from across the country to develop and share expertise in energy efficiency policy making and to underline the role efficiency can play as emerging and developing economies work to meet their energy and climate goals. Countries at COP28 in Dubai, including India, recently agreed to double the rate of energy efficiency progress this decade to help drive down global greenhouse gas emissions.

“India is expected to see the largest energy demand growth of any country in the next three decades – which means greater efficiency will be essential to help the country power economic growth while also reducing its emissions,” said Brian Motherway, Head of the IEA’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions. “During its G20 presidency year, India showed global leadership on promoting energy efficiency as a key part of global efforts to address climate change. We hope this training week will lay the groundwork for even more ambitious action.”

“The world wants to double the rate of energy efficiency improvements this decade,” said Shri Abhay Bakre, Director General of India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). “This is possible if we put in place an effective policy regime using proven energy efficiency measures as the key strategy.”

Recent energy efficiency gains in India have been driven in part by increased spending on efficiency initiatives, the introduction of a new energy conservation code for buildings, and a rapid increase in electric car sales, according to the IEA’s recent Energy Efficiency 2023 report. The country has also launched four new energy efficiency policies for residential appliances in support of efforts to reduce the nation’s energy intensity by 45% by 2030. And India's Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative aims to conserve energy by shifting the behaviours of at least a billion people in the coming years.

The training week aimed to build on this progress by bringing together policy makers from across India to share perspectives and draw on international best practices. Consisting of five parallel courses – covering energy efficiency in appliances and equipment, transport, buildings, indicators and evaluation, and industry – participants were presented with a detailed introduction to energy efficiency policy packages and took part in a series of sector-focused workshops and group activities aimed at amplifying policy-making capacity both locally and nationally.

The IEA has held three Energy Efficiency Training Weeks this year: its annual event in Paris in April and another in Jakarta in October focused on Southeast Asia. The IEA has convened such training weeks since 2015, working with more than 2,000 energy efficiency professionals from more than 120 countries. The participants are primarily from government institutions and supporting organisations in emerging economies.

The training weeks form part of the IEA’s Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies Programme and are carried out with funding from the Agency’s Clean Energy Transitions Programme. The events aim to help build a community of experts so that effective efficiency policies can play a greater role in clean energy transitions, making energy more affordable and accessible to all.