International Business Council Urgent actions to transform energy demand and double energy efficiency progress by 2030Annual Meeting 2025 DAVOS-KLOSTERS, SWITZERLAND 20-24 JANUARY Doubling Down: Seizing the Energy Demand and Efficiency Opportunity efficiency investments particularly in emerging markets and developing economies and to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) across our value chain. However, scaling up private sector action and investment is also dependent on government support to help business overcome the following challenges: –Lack of emphasis on curbing energy demand and energy efficiency measures within national energy transition plans and overall direction-setting, including on future standards, regulation and incentives –Poor access to energy efficiency finance, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) and SMEs –Limited information and data on performance, benchmarks and targets, particularly in the key sectors of buildings, industry and transport Policy-makers can help business overcome challenges by acting on the following five building blocks below. 1. Include energy demand within national planning through NDCs and market-based approaches Include energy demand as part of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs): Build energy transition plans as part of NDCs and other country-level energy and climate transition planning approaches that focus as much on reducing the intensity of energy demand as on supply-side factors and include national energy intensity targets by sector. Effective energy demand-focused policies should include an overarching legal framework, robust and enforced standards and codes (e.g., minimum energy performance standards), incentive schemes (e.g., for high efficiency projects or As the global energy system undergoes a rapid transformation, leaders in all sectors need to collaborate to accelerate an energy transition that creates positive outcomes for people, society and planet. There is one powerful lever that is often overlooked: action on transforming energy demand and improving energy efficiency. Recent research suggests acting now on this lever will come at a fraction of the long-term capital expenditure needed to switch energy supply from fossil fuels. At the same time, it will help countries decouple economic growth from energy use. In recognition of the importance of energy demand, at COP28 countries agreed to double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. This is a hugely important target, both for the planet and for business, but now is the time to move from a pledge to an action plan. Turning this ambition into reality will require early and decisive action from both public and private sectors, including dedicated investment. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) achieving the energy efficiency target set at COP28 will require a tripling of investment to $1.9 trillion annually by 2030. We business leaders are accelerating efforts on transforming energy demand and improving energy efficiency both within our operations and across our value chains. We have identified energy efficiency measures that, taken at scale, could reduce future global demand by over 30% with no loss of output, using current technology. If delivered by 2030, this could unlock savings of up to $2 trillion per annum for the global economy, boost growth, create jobs and improve companies’ competitiveness. To support this, we are incorporating energy efficiency and other demand-side measures into our own energy transition plans in accordance with the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and other policy requirements. We are also working to encourage energy

IBC Transforming Energy Demand Initiative AM25 Report