Colombian and Philippine energy ministers join Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency

Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy María Fernanda Suárez Londoño and Philippine Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi have become the latest high-profile members of the Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency, which is working on ways to accelerate energy efficiency progress worldwide.

Launched in July, the Global Commission now has 23 members, including national leaders, current and former ministers, top business executives and prominent global experts. Headed by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, it aims to produce a list of practical recommendations next year to help reenergise policy actions on energy efficiency by countries around the world.

Ms Suárez has served as Colombia’s Minister of Mines and Energy since August 2018. Under her leadership, Colombia is implementing an ambitious energy efficiency action plan that commits the country to a 9% reduction of its energy consumption compared with business as usual by 2022 through actions across different sectors.

Since Mr Cusi took office as the Philippines’ Secretary of Energy in July 2016, he has led the institutionalisation of energy efficiency measures in the country. This includes the recent passage of an energy efficiency and conservation law and the implementation of government energy management systems.

“It is an honour to have Minister Suárez and Secretary Cusi join the Global Commission,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director. “Last year, global energy efficiency improved at its slowest rate since the start of the decade. Much bolder policy action is needed to reverse this worrying trend, which is the focus of the Global Commission. Minister Suárez and Secretary Cusi’s experience building support for efficiency action will be of great value to these efforts.”

With the right efficiency policies, the global economy could double in size by 2040 while still maintaining broadly the same level of energy use as today, IEA analysis shows. Energy efficiency alone could provide more than 40% of the emissions reductions required by 2040 to meet international climate goals. However, the recently released Energy Efficiency 2019 report shows a worrying slowdown in energy efficiency improvement at a global scale.

In this context, the IEA is inviting people around the world to have their say on energy efficiency. By completing a brief online survey, interested parties can provide valuable input to inform the discussions of the Global Commission as it works to develop its final recommendations.