Geneva The Second International Energy Efficiency Forum will be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 12-14 September 2011. The Forum is organized jointly by the Government of Tajikistan, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The Forum will contribute to sharing progress made in enhancing countries’ policies and legislation for facilitating market formation in energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE), which resulted in the implementation of EE and RE projects, and in preparing commercially viable project proposals. International best practices in financing EE and RE projects and attracting investments to cleaner energy technologies will be analyzed.
The first International Energy Efficiency Forum (IEEF) was held in Astana, Kazakhstan in September 2010. Delegates of the first IEEF considered it very successful and proposed to make the International Energy Efficiency Forum a regular event.
Similar to the first IEEF, the geographical focus of the Second Forum will be on countries of Northern and Central Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. The Forum will also have a global outreach as it will offer opportunities to share experiences in overcoming barriers to energy efficiency from other regions of the world. Participants from 26 countries registered for the Forum.
The plenary sessions on the first day of the Forum will feature presentations of high-level officials from the Government of Tajikistan, Governments of other countries of the UNECE and ESCAP regions, representatives of the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations, financial institutions, business sector and energy efficiency experts.
The second day of the Forum will consist of two parallel workshops:
- The Workshop on Development of Energy Efficiency Policy Frameworks and Investments in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects will focus on policy reforms to promote investments in EE and RE projects and on the potential for such investments, based on specific examples. The workshop will also discuss tools that will enable stakeholders to formulate a common vision and a set of strategies for EE and clean energy technologies promotion, particularly in North and Central Asia.
- The Workshop on Attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Advanced Fossil Fuel Technologies will share the results of countries' studies, enabling participants to develop a better understanding of their position in the international investment market for advanced fossil fuel technologies. The principal goal of the workshop is to educate participants about FDI and to identify the desirable changes to existing policy, legal and regulatory frameworks that would create a more favourable investment climate for cleaner electricity generation projects.
On the third day, the Roundtable Discussion on the Market Opportunities for Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects in Central Asia will be held. Participants will analyze market potential for EE and RE technologies in Central Asia and discuss existing and potential opportunities and barriers for the development of a Global Energy Efficiency 21 Project in the Asia-Pacific region with a focus on Central Asia.
For more information, visit: http://www.unece.org/energywelcome/energy-home.html