IEA’s 2026 Global Conference on Energy Efficiency: Key Takeaways from Montreal

Energy efficiency took center stage in Montreal this June, and the Association of Energy Engineers was proud to be part of the conversation from the very start.

Ahead of the IEA’s 11th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency, AEE joined the Business Council for Sustainable Energy’s roundtable alongside the Alliance to Save Energy, ACEEE, CLEAResult Canada, Efficiency Canada, Hydro Québec Energy Services U.S., and Mission Efficiency. Practitioners from Canada, the EU, India, Spain, the UK, and the U.S. sat down to tackle a hard question: how do we put energy efficiency at the center of economic development, not just climate policy?

The timing mattered. Energy price volatility, surging demand from electrification and data centers, an aging grid, and extreme heat are converging all at once. The group’s consensus was direct: the tools already exist. What’s missing is the story. Too often, energy efficiency gets filed under “nice to have” instead of recognized for what it delivers, better public health, stronger local economies, and the kind of competitive edge that gets Fortune 500 companies to invest in the first place.

Data, AI, and smart metering came up as the connective tissue that turns efficiency from a good idea into a deployable system, with predictive maintenance flagging equipment failures before they hit a homeowner’s wallet or comfort. Cybersecurity was flagged as a real tradeoff that needs attention as more systems come online. And workforce development stayed front and center. Growing the energy economy takes talent at every level, and building trust with the next generation of engineers is part of the job.

That roundtable set the tone for what followed. Over two days, more than 600 participants, ministers, CEOs, and senior leaders from government, finance, and business, gathered in Montreal to push the doubling goal forward. A ministerial roundtable produced an outcome statement affirming stronger government commitment to efficiency across sectors. A parallel CEO Roundtable went further, producing the Montreal Collaboration Framework, a joint commitment between industry, policymakers, and financial institutions to double the global rate of energy efficiency progress by 2030.

For AEE and the energy engineers who make that progress happen on the ground, Montreal was proof that the conversation is shifting from why efficiency matters to how fast we can scale it. The frameworks are in place. The technology works. Now it’s a question of execution, and that’s where our members come in.