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Energy efficiency is an often-overlooked opportunity that enables energy access, resilience, affordability, and economic growth in the Global South. This report highlights that opportunity, presenting 11 case studies that have overcome systemic barriers to bring widespread benefits.
Alongside cleantech, action on energy efficiency can achieve these benefits faster, fairer, and cheaper:
- Energy access and savings: Global South energy use is on track to grow 70% by midcentury, accounting for 70% of global growth in that time. Without the past decade of energy efficiency improvements, Global South fossil fuel demand would be more than 30% higher, requiring much more energy for the same level of prosperity.
- Energy security: 3 in 4 people in the Global South live in countries that import fossil fuels, with huge risks for supply reliability. A decade of energy efficiency saved these countries ~100bn USD in 2022 alone by avoiding further imports.
- Energy affordability: Two-thirds of fossil fuel energy is wasted in its production, transportation, and use — costing as much as 9% of GDP in major Global South economies, double the global average. Energy efficiency can reduce waste and lower the need for investments in new power system infrastructure, thus increasing affordability for consumers.
But progress on energy efficiency is lacking. Despite the immense benefits of energy efficiency for countries across the Global South, efforts to increase efficiency remain fragmented and far below its potential.
Observed barriers. In this report we analyze 11 initiatives that helped lower costs, increase awareness, improve standards, and build up skills across Global South regions. These initiatives addressed several common barriers:
Together, the case studies show that barriers to energy efficiency often require a systemic problem-solving approach. Initiatives used a combination of measures to overcome these barriers, including:
In addition to significant cost and emission savings, these initiatives also resulted in a wide range of benefits for consumers, including reduced energy bills, improved quality of life, and increased decision-making capacity. Much more is possible if these approaches are scaled across the world.
