Efficiency in Action: The Silent Driver of Competitiveness

Energy efficiency has long been called the “first fuel” of the transition - but in practice, it remains the most undervalued. While efficiency could deliver over 40% of the emissions reductions needed to reach net zero, investments are still falling short, even though they offer the highest return per euro spent.

At COP30, where attention will focus on implementation and industrial decarbonisation, this session will bring efficiency to the forefront - not as an abstract policy goal, but as a proven engine of competitiveness. The event, co-hosted with the Energy Efficiency Movement, will highlight concrete examples from leading companies and financiers showing how efficiency cuts costs, creates jobs, strengthens supply-chain resilience, and can be a bankable investment, while driving measurable emission reductions.

Through two linked dialogues - one on deployment and one on finance - the session will show that the solutions already exist, and that scaling them is a question of structure, not technology.

Organisers: Energy Efficiency Movement & Solar Impulse Foundation

Leader’s Lunch: The Efficiency First Dividend

An invitation-only dialogue hosted by Climate Action, where Bertrand Piccard joins business and finance leaders to explore how putting efficiency first can deliver the fastest and most profitable path to net zero.

Organiser: Climate Action

Live broadcast with We Don't Have Time

Kicking off the We Don’t Have Time COP30 broadcast COP30 series, this opening session will spotlight energy efficiency as a cornerstone of climate action. The discussion will explore how smarter energy use can boost prosperity, resilience, and emissions reductions across sectors worldwide.

Confirmed speakers:

• Ambroise Fayolle, VP, European Investment Bank
• Bertrand Piccard, President, Solar Impulse Foundation
• Thomas Brose, Climate Alliance 
• Mike Umiker, Energy Efficiency Movement

International Aviation and SDG7: Accelerating the Global Clean Energy Transition Skyward

This event will elaborate on how the international aviation sector contributes to SDG7 on Clean Energy, and related topics on stewarding forests and biodiversity, and supporting socio-economic development. ICAO share about its upcoming Aviation Energy Compact under the UN Energy Compact.

Organsier: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

Driving Global Uptake of Established Climate Technologies and Solutions for Buildings

This session, co-organised with UNEP’s Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, will explore how proven technologies and practical solutions can accelerate the decarbonisation of buildings worldwide, unlocking massive energy and cost savings.

Organisers: UNEP, GlobalABC & Solar Impulse Foundation

Optimising Demand, Decarbonising Supply: Driving the Energy Transition Forward

This two-part high-level session, co-organised with Schneider Electric, ENGIE, and ClimateSAN, will explore how optimising energy demand and decarbonising energy supply, supported by financial innovation and enhanced by artificial intelligence, can jointly accelerate the global energy transition by scaling efficiency, electrification, renewables, and green molecules across sectors to deliver measurable impact.

Organisers: Schneider Electric, Engie, ClimateSAN & Solar Impulse Foundation