Energy efficiency indicators in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries

Alarming facts.The energy consumption in the Arab Mediterranean Region is climbing dramatically mainly due the increase of Air Condition Units and other electric appliances. This is a conclusion in latest report on “Energy Efficiency Indicators” by Plan Bleu which was elaborated in close cooperation with the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in Cairo with the support of MED-ENEC.

The message is: The Arab Mediterranean region becomes more vulnerable to rising oil prices. That hampers the economic developments because the Arab Region already needs twice the amount of energy to produce the same Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compared to Europe. Looking to the supply side (generating, transmitting and distributing electricity) the growing demand will cause more blackouts.

The report also gives governments as well as media an improved understanding of needs and challenges for the current climate negotiations. The EnergyEfficiency Indicators are for instance essential for monitoring and evaluation of National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs) and financing mechanisms at the carbon market, like the National Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).

The Energy Indicators reflect the reality of the energy performances of socio-economic activities, in a specific country or in the Arab Mediterranean region in general, and are essential to design, implement and monitor energy conservation policies.

The Energy Indicators are a key condition for the development of National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs) that are part of the Arab Electricity Efficiency Guideline. That Guideline was adopted by the Council of the Arab Ministers of Electricity of the League of Arab States end of 2010, and requests the Arab Countries to design and implement energy conservation policies.

On November 29^thalso the national reports about Energy Efficiency Indicators for Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Yemen will be presented. They offer a set of detailed findings and benchmarks of the energy situation in the Mediterranean Arab Region.

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Since 1977 the Blue Plan, a think-tank and Mediterranean Observatory for the Environment and Sustainable Development, has been a Regional Activity Centre for the United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP). It was set up and is funded and led by the twenty one riparian states and the European Community, all of which are Parties to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean. Its aim as defined by the inter-governmental conference held in Split in 1977 is to develop regional cooperation in order to set up and make available a fund of knowledge intended to facilitate the implementation of sustained environmentally- friendly development. Under the aegis of MAP, the Blue Plan produces prospective analyses of the environment and development, acts as a Mediterranean observatory for sustainable development, and is the main support centre for the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD

The Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) is an intergovernmental organization based in Cairo, Egypt since June 2008, and founded by 13 member states from the MENA Arab region (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Yemen). RCREEE initiates regional policy dialogues and promotes strategy and partnerships favorable to renewable energy and energy efficiency investment in the member states of Arab region.  Under the new strategyset up recently, onOctober 2012for a second phase (2013-2016) , the activities of the Center will be carried out within the scope of five strategic objectives. These will address primarily policy processes, reliability and comparability of facts and figures, improving institutional effectiveness and building human capacity through regionally coordinated actions.

MED-ENEC aims to boost energy efficiency and to increase the use of renewable energy systems in buildings in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries. The project was established by the European Commission in 2006 across the southern (MENA) countries. The focus of MED-ENEC is the development of National Energy Efficiency Plans (NEEAPs) and the implementation of related measures, e.g. Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs)  andenergy services companies (ESCO). In addition MED-ENEC provides services forthe implementation of developing Building Codes, and planning of large scale construction projects involving EE measures organizes training, studies, events and public awareness activities. MED-ENEC aims to achieve energy partnership with the all MENA-countries across its partners and institutions including League of Arab States, Focal Points appointed by the relevant national ministries, the Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), Energy Agencies and others..