At the Heiligendamm Summit in June 2007, the G-8 acknowledged an EU proposal for an international initiative on energy efficiency tabled in March 2007, and agreed to explore, together with the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency internationally. A year later, on 8 June 2008, the G8 countries, China, India, South Korea and the European Community decided to establish the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, at the Energy Ministerial meeting hosted by Japan in the frame of the 2008 G8 Presidency, in Aomori.

The Partnership will add value to existing structures and agreements that tackle energy efficiency, its purpose being to facilitate those actions that yield high energy efficiency gains and improvements, and where the participating countries see an added value for themselves and therefore choose to take action in the areas of their interest on a voluntary basis.

The Partnership offers to the G8 and other interested countries a flexible forum for high level policy discussion, regular strategic cooperation and exchanges focused exclusively on energy efficiency. It will support the ongoing work of the participating countries and relevant organisations to promote energy efficiency. It will be a supplementary and complementary instrument to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process.

The objectives of the Partnership:

• Secure a clearer picture of international action on energy efficiency.
• Enable the development of a shared and strategic view covering these activities.
• Identify jointly the possible collaboration actions and maximising the impact and synergies of their individual national actions.

The Partnership will draw on the expertise and work undertaken by international organisations and financial institutions, research organisations, the private sector, support public – private partnerships.

An initial Work Programme includes some concrete areas for voluntary cooperation, such as:

• Inventory on existing national and multilateral efforts on energy efficiency improvements,
• Sharing of best practices on programme development, public procurement, industrial plant audits, training, public awareness efforts.
• Identifying areas of joint actions to facilitate energy efficiency improvement, including joint work for global transition to energy efficient lighting technologies.

The Partnership will be open to the participation of any major economy wishing to join. The EU has already announced an initial contribution of 400,000 euros for setting up an implementing structure of the Partnership. The other partners, e.g. Japan, USA, are also taking similar commitments.