On Thursday, June 12 and Friday, June 13, the 10th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency was held in Brussels, organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission.
The Conference was attended by more than 700 delegates from 100 countries. In his opening speech, the European Commissioner for Energy, D. Jorgensen, emphasized that Energy Efficiency is at the heart of European Energy policy to tackle energy poverty, which according to the Commission's estimates burdens approximately 47 million European citizens. He also emphasized that today 60% of buildings, of all types, have an energy rating lower than C and need to be upgraded. Finally, he noted that energy efficiency is a crucial element for energy security. Next, Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, presented the main points of the IEA's strategic study titled 'Energy Efficiency 2024,' where it is noted that Energy Efficiency is the primary, first fuel, followed by natural gas, oil, etc.
More information about the IEA conference can be found here (https://www.iea.org/events/10th-annual-global-conference-on-energy-efficiency)
At the two-day conference, there were many sessions with representatives from governments, CEOs of major energy companies, and NGOs dealing with Energy Efficiency. The key topics were the leading role of the private sector in promoting energy efficiency, the competitiveness of the sector, and the jobs that promoting energy efficiency creates, as well as the need for the penetration of energy efficiency in the industrial sector and the crucial role of the public and private sectors in accelerating the EU in the European industrial sector and its competitiveness.
On the first day of the conference,12/6, the Greek Deputy Minister of Energy Mr. Nikos Tsafos participated and presented the Greek policy for the promotion of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency. He remarked that until now some 45 billion euro had been allocated to Energy Efficiency projects in the country (2% of the country's GDP).
Mr. Constantinos Theofylaktos, the General Secretary of IENE and Chairman of the Energy Efficiency Committee, participated in the conference on behalf of IENE following an invitation by the IEA.
