Introduction

Largely technology driven, this is about deploying smart regulation to set up the right environment for clever technology to operate. Behavior change is also a critical piece of the demand management puzzle. Communities must be willing to embrace a cleaner, smarter, more energy efficient future for energy efficiency to be deployed on the scale that is possible and required.

So why isn’t demand management happening all around us? The issue is that for many forms of energy efficiency (buying rated appliances, implementing building standards, changing lightbulbs) it takes many people to act. This requires communities to be educated, appropriate incentives to be developed and changes in culture. Galvanizing this type of action in communities is not easy. The MENA region can benefit from experiences of communities around the world and harness tried and tested methods for enabling energy efficiency.