GVA present at the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Efficiency Forum in Monaco Mar 28, 2014

For the 4th time, Johnson Controls, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and The Climate Group partnered to host the annual Euro-Mediterranean Energy Efficiency Forum (EEF) in Monaco.

More than 170 European policy and decision makers, private, public, and civil society representatives focused on energy efficiency’s role in Europe"s path to sustainable economic growth.

Green Value Associates (GVA) participated actively at EEF and discussed the important role of energy efficiency for economic growth and its resulting impact on the environment and national security. Other attendees also discussed the policies necessary to support greater energy efficiency investments and shared examples of best practices where energy efficiency has spurred economic development in addition to comfort, productivity and other benefits.

His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco welcomed the forum attendees. In his inaugural speech he emphasised that the timing now seems right for energy efficiency to make a big impact.

"At a time when the future of our planet is subjected to significant threats, at a time when energy-related strategic issues appear to be more controversial than ever before, above all at a time when Europe is struggling to find the mainsprings of new economic growth, this is an objective which we should target together.” said His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Europe is missing its 20% energy reduction target

Tudor Constantinescu, principal advisor to Dominique Ristori, the Commission"s Director-General for energy, outlined the European Commission"s thinking and priorities on energy efficiency and commented that the EU was on course to miss its 20 percent reduction target for energy consumption in 2020. He said: "Based on current estimates we may only achieve energy savings between 16 percent and 18 percent. New EU actions and aims for 2030 will be open for discussion with a view to reach a new policy framework in October."

Adrian Joyce, campaign director of Renovate Europe, said retrofitting of old buildings is key to EU success in 2030: "With Europe"s very small demolition rate we will still have 90 percent of the current buildings standing in 2050," he said. A binding target for the energy consumption of buildings should be set at around 55 percent, he continued, and the overall energy efficiency target at 40 percent, which together could deliver a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gases. There also needs to be a change of thinking: "We should not be talking about burden sharing, but opportunity sharing," he concluded.

Time is right to push energy efficiency on the EU agenda

Opening the first of three expert panel sessions, Michael Geissler, CEO of the Berlin Energy Agency, said current worries over energy security raised by the crisis in the Ukraine is one factor making the issue of energy efficiency timely for the EU. According to panellist Agostino Renna, CEO of GE Lighting in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa three other forces are brewing the "perfect storm" to push energy efficiency up the agenda. Forces include heightened awareness of climate change; the "industrial internet" of embedded devices which "bring together the physical and analytical world"; and companies" renewed embrace of innovation and entrepreneurialism.

Green Value Associates (GVA) was also invited at the GE Lighting “Illuminated Minds” roundtable on innovative business ideas for energy efficient solutions. The roundtable took place on March 24th at Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel Resort and was organised as part of this year’s Euro-Mediterranean Energy Efficiency Forum. The participants, among them GVA, believed that our tomorrow’s economy will be revolutionized by industrial internet, which is connecting and automating machines and hardware, generating huge amounts of data that will require new types of analytics and software, and will bring about revolutions in the way we do business.