EU4Energy Forum in Issyk Kul

The forum is being attended by over 80 participants from the 11 IEA EU4Energy countries.
(Photo: courtesy of IEA)

Over 80 participants, including officials and experts from the 11 IEA EU4Energy countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) are attending the forum. The aim is to promote policy discussion on energy subsidies and, in particular, to address government practices that set energy prices and subsidise different forms of energy, thereby discouraging investment in the sector and preventing energy system self-sufficiency. This is a particular issue in the 11 EU4Energy countries, where energy subsidies often create pricing structures that are below cost-recovery levels. The issue hinders the energy sector’s ability to generate adequate financial resources and to maintain infrastructure at the necessary technical standards. As a consequence, aging infrastructure is in many cases in urgent need of upgrades.

Yet when upgrade programmes are carried out, they are often part of government-guaranteed long-term loans from international financial institutions. This puts even more pressure on the high levels of public finances.

Discussions during the forum will address these challenges and will consider pathways to reach fully cost-reflective tariffs that also allow for planned capital investment. They will also consider best practice examples on the gradual phase-out of subsidies and exchange information on tariff methodologies for electricity and heat tariffs in EU4Energy countries.

The forum will also cover the development of emergency response mechanisms to address recurrent or other prolonged energy supply shortages. Particular focus will be placed on demand restraint management and the need for oversight by the authorities.

Statisticians from 10 different countries are playing a key role in the event, in line with the EU4Energy programme’s core objective of promoting evidence-based policymaking. The IEA energy data team has put together an interactive programme of exercises to help non-data specialists to increase the use the data in decision making.

Energy Balance Factsheet (PDF)

Energy Balance and Use in Policy-Making: An Energy Factsheet from the EU4Energy Programme
(Click to download)

The IEA is leading the implementation of the EU4Energy Programme funded by the European Union (EU) for the following Eastern Partnership (EaP) and Central Asian countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

The programme’s aim is to work with these countries to improve energy data capabilities and enhance data collection and monitoring, and assist them in evidence-based energy policy design relevant to the country’s needs.

Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies (E4) Programme

The Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies (E4) Programme was established by the IEA in 2014 to support emerging economies in their efforts to scale up and capture the benefits of energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency offers all of the benefits of a clean, domestic energy source for emerging economies, including improved energy security, higher productivity, and enhanced economic development. The World Energy Outlook sees more than 95% of growth in primary energy occurring outside OECD countries in the coming decades. Majority of consumption will be in a small number of emerging economies. Improving energy efficiency in these countries is now more important than ever.

2040 Energy Demand (EJ) in the New Policies Scenario

Source: World Energy Outlook 2017

The E4 Programme supports three levels of engagement with target countries and regions:

• Country-specific analysis
• In-depth and hands-on country support for energy efficiency policy deployment, and
• Multi-country engagement, analysis, shared learning, and capacity building

The E4 Programme is demand driven and works with each target country government based on both their areas of interest and where the IEA can add most value. These include projecting the potential for energy efficiency to inform national policy; tracking progress against targets; assessing impacts of potential and existing policies; and adapting existing and designing new polices to achieve greater impacts.

The programme is also increasingly working with countries on quantifying and communicating the multiple benefits of energy efficiency with the objective of engaging leaders, ministries of finance and economy, as well as other influential stakeholders. The concept of Energy Efficient Prosperity aligns well with the social development and economic growth agenda of the emerging economy governments.

The E4 Programme is enriching the IEA’s ongoing portfolio of work by feeding lessons learned and data collected from emerging economies back into IEA analysis and publications, such as the Energy Efficiency Market Report, the World Energy Outlook, and Energy Technology Perspectives.

Phase 1 of the E4 Programme was made possible thanks to the generous contributions of the Government of Denmark and the European Commission. Phase 2 of the E4 Programme is continuing as part of the IEA Clean Energy Transitions Programme and is funded through generous contributions from the Governments of Denmark and Switzerland.