At New York Climate Week 2025, one message stood out clearly: Action over Ambition. As electrification and artificial intelligence drive record energy demand, the global goal to double energy efficiency (EE) by 2030 has become urgent. For the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), this goal anchored discussions throughout the week, supported by a letter ASE helped organize with the Business Council for a Sustainable Energy with more than 150 U.S. businesses backing the global target.

Efficiency and Equity

A defining shift this year is the focus on affordability and equity. Policymakers emphasized that technical metrics must translate into human outcomes such as lower bills, healthier homes, and stronger communities. Programs such as Efficiency Navigator, which improves older affordable housing, show how EE can stabilize rents and utility costs while supporting family health and stability.

However, the Contractor Barrier remains a major challenge. Even with incentives in place, many homeowners and small businesses cannot find trained contractors to install efficient technologies such as heat pumps. Addressing this workforce gap is essential to bring EE solutions to scale and connect efficiency with health, safety, and climate resilience.

Efficiency as a Business Imperative

For industry, EE is no longer just a climate measure but a core business strategy. Companies are framing efficiency as resilience and risk management as well as a cost-saving measure. One hospital justified its upgrades not for lower utility bills but for avoiding lost revenue from canceled surgeries, showing how productivity and health benefits can drive investment.

Still, value chain misalignment remains a structural barrier. Those who make building or purchasing decisions often are not responsible for paying ongoing energy bills. We must correct this disconnect so that the economic benefits of efficiency are accounted for. 

System Optimization and Policy Gaps

With AI and data centers increasing energy demand, EE is now essential for system optimization. Every electron saved reduces the need for costly new infrastructure. Programs like New York’s Empire Building Challenge demonstrate how targeted funding can achieve deep decarbonization and drive technology innovation.

Local efforts are strong, but they need federal alignment. Regulatory reform should consider the benefits of demand-side resources before making massive supply-side investments. Policies must account for health, resilience, and avoid infrastructure costs in decision making. Recognizing demand management as the “first fuel” is the only path to doubling efficiency.

ASE’s Calls to Action

From Climate Week, ASE and its partners identified five priorities to turn this momentum into policy progress:

• Expand Workforce Development – Fund contractor training for high-efficiency technologies such as heat pumps.
• Reform Utility Cost Tests – Encourage regulators to adopt frameworks that incorporate the Total System Benefits energy efficency to unlock billions in new utility investment.
• Integrate EE in Grid Planning – Require efficiency and demand management before approving new supply projects.
• Streamline Permitting – Offer non-financial incentives to accelerate efficient retrofit and construction projects.
• Strengthen Codes and Standards – Support strong, technology-neutral building and appliance standards that secure long-term efficiency gains.

The message from New York is clear: a resilient, affordable, and equitable energy system is within reach, and energy efficiency is the engine making it possible. Now, it is up to the policy community to align its rules with the economic and climate reality. We must treat demand as the first fuel.