AEE Joins International Coalition Calling for COP31 to Prioritize Energy Efficiency 

The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) has joined a coalition of leading energy and business organizations including the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), la Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), la EU Alliance to Save Energy, et Efficiency Canada, in an international effort to demonstrate the private sector’s ongoing commitment to energy efficiency. Together, the group is urging global leaders to prioritize doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements as a faster, less expensive, and ready-now solution ahead of COP31. 

As part of this effort, the coalition has developed a letter that will be sent to the joint COP31 Presidencies of Australia and Türkiye and formally announced at Climate Week NYC. AEE is inviting businesses and organizations to add their names as signatories before the letter goes out. 

The COP31 Action Agenda already includes a goal of doubling the global rate of energy efficiency improvement, along with new targets for waste reduction and the energy intensity of buildings. The coalition sees these additions as a meaningful opening, but states that efficiency needs to be treated as a cross-cutting solution woven through every goal on the agenda, not a standalone item. 

The letter lays out five strategic principles for COP31 negotiators to consider:

• Energy efficiency strengthens energy security and expands access while lowering overall energy needs. 
• Efficient technologies and financing tools are already available and ready to deploy at scale. 
• Efficiency cuts waste across economies and supply chains, conserving energy, water, and other resources. 
• Efficiency investment in buildings and infrastructure improves reliability, safety, and productivity. 
• Efficiency projects create local jobs and help close the skills gap in the energy workforce. 

The letter closes with an invitation from the private sector to partner with governments on financing, innovation, and implementation.  It also requests that UNFCCC convene a high-level roundtable at COP31 dedicated to energy efficiency. 

For AEE, working alongside global leaders affirms our commitment to keeping energy efficiency at the center of the global climate and energy conversation, and to making sure the voice of energy professionals and businesses is represented at COP31. 
 
Businesses and organizations interested in signing the letter can do so before September 14, 2026. To learn more and sign the letter, visit this web page.