Two years ago, the Super-Efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative announced the world’s largest energy-efficiency commitment to date. Under the Product Efficiency Call to Action, 15 economies pledged to prioritize appliance efficiency. Specifically, they promised to double the efficiency of priority equipment accounting for over 40% of global electricity use – air conditioners, refrigerators, lightbulbs, and industrial motor systems – by 2030.

In the wake of this year’s alarming UN climate global stocktake, my colleagues at CLASP and I looked back on the Call to Action and wondered: Are countries on track to meet their commitments to double the efficiency of priority appliances? The short answer is no. The long answer is that we are falling behind, but there is a clear path to success.

CLASP’s new report, Getting Appliances Back on Track, assesses progress, country by country and appliance by appliance. It also charts out clear, achievable recommendations for getting appliance efficiency back on track.

Common policy levers like minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and energy-efficiency labeling are cost-effective, widely used, and proven with a track record for reliably cutting energy use, lowering costs, and slashing emissions. Getting Appliances Back on Track offers specific recommendations for countries to most effectively leverage these and other tools to make progress toward their commitments.

The report dovetails with our landmark publication forthcoming this November, Net Zero Heroes: Scaling Efficient Appliances for Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation & Resilience, which lays out ambitious targets for the appliances sector to meet Net Zero 2050 goals.

While the world is behind where it needs to be, we have the Net Zero Heroes we need – let’s get to work.