1. Improving access and meeting Growing Demand: increasing supply and promoting energy efficiency

Business will continue to play a role in both demand and supply orientated policies and approaches. In order to promote and enhance energy efficiency, business supports the following actions:

• Energy efficiency programmes and partnerships through international cooperation.
• Adoption of energy efficiency strategies by Government, business and civil society in their own operations.
• Enhancement of energy efficiency along value chains
• Provision of incentives for actions where the direct benefits of energy efficiency improvements are not gained.

2. Enabling Framework Conditions

Sustainable industrial development will flourish if the private sector operates within the proper enabling framework conditions. Governments and donor agencies should emphasize that access to financial resources goes hand-in-hand with good governance. They can do this by creating environments that are favourable to private investment, reducing investment risks, and providing credit support through grants, loans and/or guarantees.

Key features of enabling frameworks include:

• Open markets;
• Strong institutions and sound governance;
• Risk management;
• Protection of intellectual property;
• Due diligence;
• Rule of law and honouring contracts;
• Cost effective, consistent policies and regulations based on transparent, stable, economic and uniformly enforced regulatory systems

3. Investments and Financing for Sustainable Development

Business (as the major investor), other investors and governments need to collaborate and work in partnership in order to promote energy access and meet growing energy demand:

• Governments can leverage official development assistance, promoting technological cooperation and exploring innovative financing arrangements. Governments and donor agencies are urged to promote partnerships between local governments, the private sector and civil society.and test shared-risk models.
• Additional funds have to be sourced from donors, multilateral agencies, and through foreign direct investment, particularly for developing countries. Donor agencies should also streamline the process of releasing official development assistance for relevant projects and initiatives.

4. Research, Development and Technology Innovation

Governments need to support business technological development and deployment activities by:

• Funding R&D activities directly (research centers) and indirectly (universities);
• Assisting in capacity-building initiatives by streamlining processes for international cooperation and participation;
• Supporting R&D and technology transfer across borders, by lowering tariffs, maintaining strong intellectual property right protection and establishing trade agreements;
• Providing an R&D friendly environment by guaranteeing a workable effective patent system;
• Engaging major stakeholders in discussions on the advancement of innovation and new technologies.

5. Partnerships

Governments, business and civil society need to partner to leverage resources to provide training, share knowledge and skills, share more sustainable energy technologies and cooperate to accelerate their dissemination.

Governments need to continue to support partnerships by:

• Participating in partnerships and offering local expertise as well as financial resources and infrastructure;
• Establishing a regulatory environment that supports the formation of partnerships.