Energy Efficiency Declared 'Most Overlooked Climate Solution' at Climate Week NYC

At Climate Week NYC, leaders from some of the world's most influential energy and climate organizations converged on a single message: energy efficiency is the fastest, cheapest and most underutilized tool for climate mitigation — and the failure to scale it is a branding problem, a policy problem and a market-coordination problem all at once. A new collaboration between Climate Group, RMI and CLASP was announced to accelerate the push, while ABB unveiled a first-of-its-kind direct current product line for data centers.

• Panelists argue efficiency could avoid 460 gigatons of CO2-equivalent by 2060 when paired with low-GWP refrigerants
• ABB launches source-to-rack DC portfolio for data centers, calling the future a hybrid AC/DC grid
• RMI diagnoses efficiency's "branding problem": U.S. grid runs at just 40% asset utilization while $4.6 billion in energy is wasted annually
• CLASP warns geopolitical uncertainty is freezing government action on stronger efficiency standards
• Climate Group, RMI and CLASP announce new collaboration to coordinate market signals and give policymakers confidence to act
• Grid connection delays of 7–10 years make behind-the-meter efficiency the fastest available resource
• Workforce gap of 6 million efficiency-skilled workers projected by end of decade

Kristi, a leader at the Sequoia Climate Foundation and former Department of Energy official, opened the event with a keynote that set the frame for everything that followed: energy efficiency is not conservation — it is infrastructure.