Recognition of the ESCO sector for NDC development

To support the achievement of its vision and mission the Global ESCO Network has established a task force working for formal recognition of the ESCO sector as a pathway for countries to strengthen and achieve energy efficiency ambitions in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The Global ESCO Network is inviting contributions from affiliated ESCO associations to support in this task.

There is a clear opportunity for improved communication and outreach globally related to both the role and potential opportunities offered by an enhanced ESCO sector. The Global ESCO Network has an explicit communications function to amplify the success of ESCOs around the world, raise the sector’s profile, and carry forward messages into key international fora, such as the UNFCCC process and other major climate change mitigation dialogues. This is also carried out in alignment and reinforcement of key advocacy and communications efforts of regional and national ESCO associations.

It is a particular purpose to ensure that ESCOs frequently appear in Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement as a concrete modality for the implementation of, energy efficiency targets mentions of which are commonly quite generic. It is thus further a purpose to influence the sources of NDC development support, including e.g. actions supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Climate Technology Centre Network (CTCN) and a number of bilateral and multilateral programmes. The Global ESCO Network shall trace and map these linkages and devise strategies for placing ESCOs on the respective development agendas.