World Economic Forum Releases Summary of CEM2 Public-Private Roundtables
27 July 2011
The World Economic Forum released a new report, Public-Private Roundtables at the Clean Energy Ministerial Meeting, which summarizes the key discussions and outcomes of public-private roundtables held on 6 April during the second Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM2) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The roundtables, which were convened by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development and co-hosted by the Clean Energy Ministerial, brought energy ministers, government officials, business leaders, and experts from nongovernmental organizations together for a candid dialogue on four clean energy themes: the scale-up of renewable energy, innovative technologies for energy efficiency, sustainable cities, and strategies for utility-scale energy efficiency.
The report summarizes next steps for advancing the public-private agenda on scaling up clean energy, identifying key areas where public-private initiatives and partnerships can accelerate the transition to a clean energy future.
The report also provides a series of clear business recommendations to ministers to help drive forward the public-private agenda:
- Accomplish renewable energy scale-up through the design of more effective policies that are stable, long-term, and respond to the market
- Address the variability of renewables through more concerted design and management of electricity grid integration
- Accelerate efforts to implement national minimum energy efficiency standards
- Encourage competition among manufacturers to produce the most efficient products
- Advance consumer information on energy use and energy efficiency opportunities by supporting improved access to data and smart grid test pilots
- Leverage the leadership of cities on clean energy by involving industry and other stakeholders in holistic, strategic discussions on priorities and implementation options
- Develop and implement positive incentives for utilities to invest in energy efficiency
- Use the Clean Energy Ministerial as a platform to map existing efforts, share lessons learned, agree on priorities for international collaboration, and make new pledges and commitments for clean energy policies and financing
Overall, the roundtable sessions highlighted the value of engaging the private sector early in government strategy and policy-making processes. The sessions increased private-sector understanding of policy makers’ priorities and allowed governments to speak with businesses about the need for market and regulatory frameworks to increase corporate investments in clean energy.
Rapidly scaling up clean energy solutions is one of the world’s core economic growth opportunities. Capturing this opportunity will require expanded public-private collaboration and innovation to help further identify the investment, technology, skills, and experience that are required to effectively transition to a lower-carbon future. Future Clean Energy Ministerial meetings will include additional public-private roundtables that will provide an important platform for governments and businesses to continue building policies and initiatives that accelerate the transition to a clean energy future.
