EE Global Opening Plenary: Energy Efficiency is World's Most Valuable Resource

Brussels, Belgium; April 12, 2011 — EE Global is packing a powerful energy efficiency punch as evidenced in the opening plenary session at the 4^th annual EE Global Forum in Brussels, Belgium.

Fresh from a standing-room-only media event at the nearby EU Sustainable Energy Week, keynote speaker Günther Oettinger, who has been the EU Energy Commissioner since February 2010, addressed the attendees. He shared the European Union's goals of reducing energy usage 20% by 2020 and outlined some of the strategies to achieve the ambitious goal, including targeting the private sector to impact behavioral changes, and encouraging the electric utility sector to take measures to deliver power more efficiently.

Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan opened the three-day forum with its more than 90 speakers representing 26 countries. Monica Frassoni, President of the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE), introduced the five high-profile speakers comprising the session, all of whom agreed that energy efficiency must be an international priority and gave examples of policies and programs underway across the globe.

Highlights from the presentations:

• Hon. Claude Turmes, Member (Luxembourg), European Parliament: The EU policy maker and EU-ASE Board Member is looking to the newly created EU-ASE to help the EU meet its energy efficiency goals.
• Nobuo Tanaka, Exec. Dir., International Energy Agency: Tanaka announced that six International Energy Agency member countries have achieved significant energy efficiency improvements since 2009.
• Dave Szczupak, EVP, Global Product Organization, Whirlpool Corp: Szczupak announced that Whirlpool is developing smart appliances that will interact with smart technologies such as iPads, while seamlessly interfacing with the smart grid to maximize energy efficiency.
• Ashok Lavasa, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India: Lavasa shared that India is implementing a host of energy saving measures as more of its population moves to cities. The country is promoting energy savings labeling to help its citizens make educated consumer choices.
• Dr. Hubert Keiber, CEO, Siemens, Building Automation: Keiber challenged the building community to construct or retrofit energy-efficient structures and continuously evaluate them to ensure that efficiency is maintained.

EE Global will hold two additional plenary sessions: Wednesday's will focus on the importance of energy efficiency as the world strives for a clean energy economy, and Thursday's closing plenary will honor the visionary policy makers and leaders from Europe, Latin America, North America and the international community as a whole.