The demand for energy could be significantly reduced by improving energy efficiency. This would have a double effect: lower costs for consumers, and lower CO2 emissions. This report recommends steps Mali could take towards more energy efficiency.
The growing demand for electricity has a number of implications, principally more frequent power shortages as production fails to meet the increased demand, leading to major investment in additional power stations. This additional electricity production will increase CO2 emissions, contributing to global warming. The demand could be reduced if energy were used more efficiently. Compared with the economic cost of installing new power stations, energy efficiency (EE) is a low-cost alternative for meeting the country's energy needs. What's more, consumers save on their electricity bills and CO2 emissions are reduced.
Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and energy efficiency labels are one of the most useful tools for increasing the energy efficiency of products on the market. SMPEs indicate the minimum energy efficiency level of products that can be placed on the market, eliminating the least efficient appliances. Energy labelling informs consumers of the potential energy savings and environmental benefits of choosing more efficient products, thereby increasing sales of the most efficient products and preparing the market for the application of more restrictive standards in the future. In addition, in countries where electricity is fully or partially subsidised by the state, improving the energy efficiency of consumer products will also generate savings for the state, which can be passed on to society through rebate schemes to help consumers buy more efficient products.
To this end, more and more countries are implementing standards and labels around the world, starting with the most energy-intensive products, such as fridges and air conditioners, and then extending to other electrical products.
This report recommends the application of energy efficiency regulations in Mali in a two-stage process:
- application of existing standards and labels as soon as possible and on a mandatory basis,
- updating of standards to a more stringent level by 2026 at the latest, followed by a second update in 2027 for refrigerators and 2028 for domestic air conditioners.