National Roundtable on "Financing Energy Efficiency in the Buildings and Household Appliances Sectors"

As part of the project "Mitigation Enabling Energy Transition in the Mediterranean region meetMed," funded by the European Union and implemented by the Mediterranean Association of National Energy Agencies MEDENER and the Regional Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency RCREEE, ANME organized a roundtable on Thursday, February 29, 2024, in Tunis, under the theme: "Financing Energy Efficiency in the Buildings and Household Appliances Sectors." This meeting is part of a series of national roundtables on access to financing (entitled MED SEI Forums), benefiting countries on the Southern shore, namely Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Algeria, with the latest edition of the MED SEI Forum.

Mr. Fathi Hanchi, General Director of the National Agency for Energy Management (ANME), inaugurated the roundtable, emphasizing the significance of this project and Tunisia's edition of the "Mediterranean Sustainable Energy Investment Forums (MED-SEI Forums)."

It is worth noting that Tunisia has adopted an inclusive approach with six instruments to drive the energy transition strategy. The institutional instrument involves the creation of ANME since 1985, the regulatory instrument aimed at guiding consumers towards efficient practices and technologies through mandatory measures, and the technical instrument that has facilitated the development of a service network composed of numerous experts in various sectors.

The fourth instrument values the communication aspect and its contribution to changing consumer behavior. Hence, a fifth fiscal instrument involves reducing taxes on efficient energy technologies and, in some cases, penalizing energy-consuming equipment.

Finally, the sixth instrument is financial. Indeed, Tunisia has established the Energy Transition Fund, which provides financing solutions to support consumers (individuals or businesses) in their investments. This latter instrument is at the heart of this roundtable and is the focus of ANME's intervention, as indicated by Mr. Hanchi. Regarding the results of this approach and these various instruments, the General Director of ANME announced the agency's success in mobilizing approximately 1.6 billion dinars over the period 2010-2023, with over 60% spent on financing EE and RE projects through local commercial banks.

He added that "various actions have led to a 12% reduction in consumption in 2023 compared to the 2010 level," emphasizing that the Tunisian government has approved an energy efficiency and austerity plan comprising around fifty measures aimed at accelerating progress towards the objectives.

Recalling that this meeting brought together various stakeholders and project partners, including Mrs. Marina Manchetti, Head of Section at the European Union, Mr. Jouad El Kharraz, Executive Director of RCREEE (online), Mrs. Roberta Boniotti, Secretary-General of MEDENER, as well as banks and all stakeholders involved in implementing investments in sustainable energy.