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The Green Climate Fund included in its initial set of investments
(in November 2015) an allocation of USD 217 million for an energy
efficiency green bond in Latin America and the Caribbean with
the Inter-American Development Bank. 85 Meanwhile, Goldman
Sachs announced in late 2015 that it would expand its clean
energy investment target – which includes energy efficiency
opportunities – to USD 150 billion by 2025. 86
Some innovative investment mechanisms have emerged that
enhance financial activity in energy efficiency. For example,
yieldcos, an investment instrument used for certain renewable
energy assets, were employed for energy efficiency projects in
the United States and Europe from the second half of 2013 to
mid-2015; however, their role in the growth of renewable power
mergers and acquisitions activity tapered off in the second
half of 2015 due to a significant decline in the value of several
publicly traded yieldcos. 87 In addition, Property-Assessed Clean
Energy (PACE) financing, a form of on-bill financing that was first
developed in the early 2000s, continues to expand in the United
States in both commercial and residential markets. 88 PACE
financing was designed to address one of the most significant
barriers to energy efficiency and renewable energy retrofits:
upfront costs.
In September 2015, 70 financial institutions from more than
20 countries – including national, regional and global banks
– committed to increase financing for energy efficiency
investments. 89 In November 2015, 20 countries (including
France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United
States) formed the Mission Innovation initiative to double R&D
investment in low-carbon technologies, including end-use
energy efficiency. 90 In parallel to the Mission Innovation, the
Breakthrough Energy Coalition was launched by 28 private
capital investors to invest in clean technologies, including energy
efficiency. 91
POLICIES, PROGRAMMES AND PLANS
An increasing number of governments worldwide – at the
regional, national, state and local levels – have enacted policies to
improve energy efficiency in the buildings, transport and industry
sectors. Drivers for such policies include increasing energy
security, advancing economic growth and competitiveness,
reducing fuel poverty and mitigating climate change. 92 In
developing countries, increased efficiency can make it easier to
provide energy services to those who lack access. 93 Policies –
including targets, regulations, standards and labelling, and fiscal
incentives – aim to address a number of barriers to accelerating
energy efficiency actions. These include a lack of capacity and
knowledge, misplaced incentives i across different stakeholders,
energy subsidies and regulatory barriers. 94
Additionally, some policies attempt to harness the synergies
between energy efficiency and renewable energy, despite limited
new examples addressing the two in concert. However, there are
numerous examples of policies and programmes that are focused
on renewable energy and energy efficiency simultaneously.
Targets to improve energy efficiency have been established at
all levels of government, including the regional level. A large
portion of existing targets is aimed at a particular sector or subsector.
In late 2014, the EU updated its economy-wide efficiency
improvements target (relative to 1990 levels) from 20% by 2020
to 27% by 2030, although the 2030 targets were adopted as
non-binding. 95 During the period 2014–2015, several EU Member
States revised targets that they established in 2013 through
National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs) under the EU
Energy Efficiency Directive.
Although most of the absolute targets for 2020 remained
unchanged in 2015, three countries (Bulgaria, Croatia and
Slovakia) reduced their targets, while several others (including
Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Spain and Sweden)
made their targets more ambitious. 96
Some countries have defined both energy efficiency and
renewable energy targets through roadmaps and national action
plans. In late 2015, Chile adopted an Energy Roadmap to 2050
that includes the reduction of energy poverty, improvements
in energy efficiency (i.e., equipment standards, new buildings
standards) and an increase in renewable energy generation (to
70% by 2050) throughout the period. 97 In 2014, Japan adopted
its Strategic Energy Plan, which describes the need for energyefficient
construction and renovation, LED lighting, Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS) and energy management systems
in industrial facilities, while also planning for accelerating
deployment of renewables and achieving grid parity over the
mid to long term. 98 Also adopted in 2014, Indonesia’s National
Energy Plan aims to transform the country’s energy mix by 2025
by improving energy efficiency and increasing the renewable
energy share in the energy mix from 2% up to 23%. 99
06
In Africa, some countries furthered their efforts to advance
renewables and energy efficiency in national initiatives in 2015.
Algeria adopted its Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
Program, which includes a strategy to develop and expand the
i Misplaced incentives occur if those who make decisions about investing in energy efficiency improvements are different from those who benefit from the
resulting energy savings.
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