PE2 member brands Danfoss, Signify and Trane join Three Percent Club
NEW YORK and MAKATI CITY, 23 September 2019 – The global companies Danfoss, Signify and Trane, which are actively represented in the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2), announced that they have joined a new coalition of countries, businesses and international organizations today committed to driving a three percent global increase in energy efficiency each year – a move that can help limit climate change and increase global prosperity.
Launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, the Three Percent Club builds on International Energy Agency (IEA) research showing that the right efficiency policies could deliver over 40 per cent of the emissions cuts needed to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, without requiring new technology.
“The IEA is pleased to be working with leading countries to enhance global energy efficiency,” said Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA. “Energy efficiency is the one energy resource that all countries share in abundance, and it can help reduce emissions while enhancing their peoples’ well-being. Our analysis shows that we can collectively achieve much higher rates of progress, and we are delighted to see the leadership and ambition set out by these countries.”
Signify global CEO Eric Rondolat declared, “Another year of record heat waves, fires in the Amazon and Siberia, and the ice caps at their smallest for centuries. The time for debate is over – now it’s time to take urgent action.”
According to Rondolat, governments worldwide need to help realize a carbon neutral world by 2050 at the latest with companies committing to a more aggressive target of 2030. When it comes to what he described as the “low-hanging fruit of energy saving actions,” Rondolat calls for the following commitments: [a] by 2020 all new buildings to be installed with LED or equivalent energy-efficient lighting; [b] by 2025 all street lighting to be LED or equivalent energy-efficient lighting; and, [c] by 2030 all existing corporate buildings should be fitted with LED or equivalent energy-efficient lighting.
During his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations earlier today, Rondolat called upon more companies and countries to join the Three Percent Club. Signify said it surpassed its five-year commitment to deliver two billion LED lamps and luminaires in support of the 'Global Lighting Challenge’. This Clean Energy Ministerial campaign set an industry-wide goal to achieve global sales of ten billion high-efficiency, high-quality and affordable advanced lighting products, such as LED lamps, between 2015 and 2020. The adoption of such energy-efficient lighting is seen as one of the most significant short-term initiatives to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the Climate Action Summit to spark an immediate and much-needed increase in action on climate change. According to UN Environment’s Emissions Gap Report, the current level of climate action would lead to a global temperature rise of over 3°C this century. This is far beyond the Paris Agreement goals of 1.5°C or well below 2°C, and would cause major disruption to societies and economies.
Currently, only a handful of countries’ Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) plans under the Paris agreement include specific energy efficiency commitments, meaning that there is massive room for improvement.
The coalition will concentrate on accelerating the deployment of available energy-efficient technology and materials in buildings, transportation, appliances, lighting and district energy. Such improvements will lower carbon emissions, reduce energy costs and air pollution, and create local jobs. Delivering on the three percent target would bring household energy savings of USD 500 billion per year by 2040.
In the Philippines, PE2 member companies Danfoss Inc., Signify Philippines Inc., and Filairco Technical Services Co. Inc. represent these global energy efficiency brands.
