Summary of discussions at the Informal Preparatory Meeting of the  UNECE Group of Experts on Energy Efficiency held on 1 September 2014 [8 October 2014]

EE is a “much needed fuel to the economy”, as energy demand and global energy prices continue to grow, along with proliferation of pollution from conventional energy sources. From 1990 to 2000, world population has quadrupled whereas energy consumption has increased by a factor of 16. As a result, there is an increase in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), 59% of which are related to carbon dioxide release from fossil fuel combustion. " On 1 September 2014 international energy experts and UNECE member States discussed how to increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures in the region, and which role the newly established Group of Experts on Energy Efficiency could play.