New project: Financing energy efficiency in buildings

Buildings account for 40% of energy consumption worldwide and this share looks set to rise considerably in emerging countries. Thus, energy efficiency is an important factor for sustainable economic growth. adelphi is supporting the KfW Entwicklungsbank with an international workshop.

As part of a new project, adelphi is supporting the KfW Entwicklungsbank as it develops and implements the workshop “Financing Energy Efficiency in Buildings“, which will be held from 16 to 17 February 2012 in Frankfurt am Main. The event will showcase financial instruments to promote energy efficiency in the building sector and provide a platform for dialogue between political decision-makers from various emerging countries and financial institutions.

According to a scenario drawn up by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of energy consumed by buildings in 2050 will have risen by 60% on the level in 2007. However, if measures are taken to promote energy efficiency, building energy consumption is only expected to increase by 5%. Such measures involve the isolation of walls and heating and cooling systems, which require not only technical knowledge, but also investment amounting to 12.3 billion US dollars, according to IEA estimates. While investments of this kind are an attractive option in view of the potential energy savings, insufficient access to long-term capital, a lack of energy-efficient products and insufficient legal requirements concerning building technology often create obstacles to achieving energy efficiency goals.

The “Financing Energy Efficiency in Buildings Workshop“ will provide participants from around the world with information on experiences in Germany regarding funding programmes in the building sector, offer a platform to share best practices and enable dialogue between financial institutions and decision-makers from emerging countries. The workshop will welcome participants from China, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Mexico, Serbia, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey and Vietnam.