Sheraton Hotel Conference Centre, Tbilisi, Georgia

The Forum was organized jointly by the Government of Georgia, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Forum explored policies and legislation needed to support energy efficiency improvements, access to cleaner energy, financing energy efficiency, and energy efficiency in buildings and infrastructure. Forum participants discussed the necessary conditions for enabling and encouraging investments in energy efficiency and sustainable use of energy. It included a high-level segment with participation of ministers and officials of the government bodies responsible for energy, building sector, and environmental protection.

The geographical focus of the forum is Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia; however, best practices from other regions in Europe and America were also discussed. The report on “Good Practices for energy-efficient housing in the UNECE region” was presented during the Forum. This report is the output of a joint effort between the UNECE, UN-Habitat and the City of Vienna.

The Forum consisted of several thematic workshops including a workshop “A Road Map to Energy Efficient Residential Sector”, organized by the UNECE Housing and Land Management Unit which was held on 18 September 2013. The workshop explored policies, legislation and financial frameworks needed to support energy efficiency improvements in the residential sector. It was designed for policy makers and experts in the field of energy efficiency of the housing sector and housing management, economic and social development, environmental protection, governance and financing. 

The Forum draft agenda and materials are available in the meeting page of the SED website.