Appliance efficiency could provide roughly one fifth of the reduction in energy demand needed to meet a pivotal climate commitment, according to CLASP’s analysis “Doubling Energy Efficiency with Appliances: How governments can leverage appliances to reach climate targets”. With nearly 110 countries pledging at COP28 to double annual energy efficiency improvements by 2030, more ambitious appliance policies are critical to reaching this goal before the narrow window for net zero by mid-century closes.

Key Findings

• To get on track for net zero emissions by mid-century, the average global annual rate of improvement in energy intensity must double to at least 4% by 2030. Appliance efficiency can deliver approximately 20% of the total reduction in energy demand required to meet this goal.
• Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia have recently taken significant steps to integrate appliance efficiency into their national strategies, recognizing its critical role in achieving energy and climate goals.

Recommendations

• Policymakers must rapidly implement stringent minimum efficiency standards for appliances, ensuring that they meet or exceed the best standards currently in place. Countries with world-leading standards should increase them further to reflect the levels of today’s best available technologies.
• Governments need to embed clear, measurable appliance efficiency targets into their national climate goals. They must also track progress with standardized metrics to stay on course to meet the doubling efficiency goal.
• All stakeholders across government, industry, and civil society must strengthen international and cross-sectoral collaboration to accelerate global energy efficiency gains. This cost-effective approach includes sharing technical expertise, conducting joint market surveillance, and harmonizing standards to overcome common barriers.