ECE Energy Series – serie

This publication offers an exploration into examples of the transformative power of digital technologies within the energy sector across the UNECE member states and beyond. Aiming to cover the whole energy value chain, it showcases how digitalization is reshaping the energy landscape worldwide, driving efficiency and sustainability of the energy systems. From smart grids and energy management systems to predictive analytics and blockchain applications, the case studies discuss benefits and challenges of integrating digital technologies into energy systems and highlight lessons learned from such transformations. With contributions from leading experts in the area, this publication synthesizes insights from a range of contexts. It is designed to facilitate informed decision-making and to serve as a knowledge hub for stakeholders who seek to navigate the complexities of digital transformation in the energy sector in the UNECE region and beyond.

This is the second edition of the Best Policy Practices for Promoting Energy Efficiency publication prepared in the framework of the United Nations Development Account project “Promoting Energy Efficiency Investments for Climate Change Mitigation and Sustainable Development”. It provides additional exemplars of the best policy practices for promoting energy efficiency in UNECE region and beyond. The objective of the publication is to present a structured framework of policies and measures to promote energy efficiency investments for climate change mitigation and sustainable development, as well as to develop a menu of energy efficiency policies and measures.

This publication explores the progress in energy efficiency and renewable energy in selected countries of South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, and in the Russian Federation. The study analyzes policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks, financial environment and level of awareness in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy from 2010 to the present. It also identifies the existing gaps at the required frameworks and environment to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in the countries. This study is intended to support countries in their ongoing efforts towards improving energy efficiency and building a strong renewable energy base. It proposes a set of recommendations for necessary steps in achieving the long-term objectives for energy mix and meeting the ambitious related targets set by the countries.

The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) is a project-based classification and management system applicable to all energy and mineral resource projects including renewable energy, anthropogenic resource projects as well as injection projects for geological storage. Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), managing energy and raw material resources in a sustainable manner has become paramount to all stakeholders such as Governments, companies and investors. This has to be viewed along with the Paris Climate Accord, which seeks low-carbon pathways in the appropriate developmental strategies. Successful resource management in the modern world requires relevant information on the resource base, understanding of the factors that are responsible for progressing the resources to production, adequate framework conditions set by the regulators and society and the enterprising capacity. A series of case studies on various resource projects from different countries are presented in this report to demonstrate how UNFC could be used for sustainable resource management.

This toolkit for renewable energy policy-makers and investors builds on the work already done by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) towards sustainably increasing renewable energy investments and improving cross-sectoral planning in decision-making processes. The Renewable Energy Hard Talk events held in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2018) and Serbia (2019) included a Nexus component for this purpose. Substantively, the approach used drew from the nexus assessment work under the ECE Water Convention and evolved into a list of criteria for sustainable renewable energy policies and investment initiatives that bring multiple benefits across sectors and countries while minimizing trade-offs, including with other water uses and environment protection

Considerable progress in energy efficiency in the building sector is reported in the majority of the UNECE member States, and still reaching the potential often falls short due to flawed policy frameworks, and lack of public awareness on available modern technologies and education on long-term economic and social benefits of energy efficiency improvement. This publication is prepared in response to the outlined challenges and aims to elucidate the status of implementation of energy efficiency standards in buildings and deployment of appropriate technologies, and to identify good policy practices and replicable solutions. It also proposes a set of general recommendations and priority actions arising from the analysis.

There are several pathways through which energy systems are transitioning to a decarbonised, sustainable economy. The development and implementation of these technologies are being driven by innovation in a wide variety of technologies. Now that most economies are emerging, governments are focused on driving a sustainable socioeconomic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is an endemic issue which must be addressed. The energy sector is missing out on the experiences, skills, and talents of much of half the human population, which severely constrains the sustainable energy transition. In addition to a larger skilled workforce, there are several advantages in bridging the gender gap within the energy sector. Gender disparities in the energy sector have been observed around the world. Women are less represented in policymaking, corporate leadership and governance, as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, and in the labour workforce. These barriers are surmountable using a two-way complementary approach, which is simultaneously bottom-up - action by women and society to bridge the gap of gender inequality in the energy sector - and top-down - government and policymakers need to develop policy tools to encourage women's participation in the energy sector. This paper is summarising key findings from a report and empirical case studies of five United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) member States: Albania, Belarus, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan