We have a new financial order – but what about a new energy order?

Money supposedly makes the world go round – or doesn't, as we have seen in the last few months. But it does make a big difference to the rate of advance of energy efficiency. So I was in New York recently at a 2-day workshop on finance and energy efficiency organized by the EEB.

The two days of discussions reinforced the EEB's initial conclusions. First, there is no easy answer to how finance can stimulate energy efficiency. Second, innovative financing mechanisms and a change to valuation models will not be enough to drive the necessary market transformation. Externalities must be priced and a value put on energy use, public/private partnerships are critical, solutions must be tailored to the specific context and building sector, and government has a significant role to play.

Regular readers will know that the EEB's first report concluded that business could influence the development of energy efficiency in buildings through three levers: a holistic approach, behavior changes, and financing. In the meeting with our Assurance Group in July, they recommended that we drill further down on finance.

We organized the workshop together with Molly McCabe of the sustainability consultancy HaydenTanner, on October 6-7, inviting around 40 stakeholders. The first day concentrated on commercial buildings, the second on residential.