IEA Latin America and Caribbean Energy Efficiency Policy Training Week
In April 2026, CEC Chair Melanie Chen and CEO Eugene Tiah attended the IEA’s policy training week in Mexico City. The aim was to build capacity among policy makers from emerging economies, equipping us with knowledge and skills to develop and implement effective energy efficiency initiatives in our perspective countries / regions.
There were five areas of focus:
- Buildings (attended by Melanie Chen)
- Appliances and Equipment
- Industry (attended by Eugene Tiah)
- Transport
- Indicators and Evaluation
CEC thanks the Secretaría de Energía of the Government of Mexico (SENER) and IEA for hosting us. It was very valuable to have the opportunity to learn from international best practices and to foster a truly global community of energy efficiency practitioners.
There were very good insights from ministerial/multilateral panels on the first day including:
Ministerial Panel – Driving Energy Efficiency Through Regional Collaboration
The panel focused on the exchange of practical strategies and innovative policies that can help ensure energy efficiency is the first fuel.
Moderator: Jorge Marcial Islas Samperio, Deputy Secretary of Energy Planning and Energy Transitions
Panellists:
- Her Excellency, Luz Elena González, Secretary of Energy of Mexico
- His Excellency Victor Hugo Ventura, Minister of Energy and Mines of Guatemala
- Andrés Rebolledo, Executive Secretary of Latin America and the Caribbean Energy Organisation (OLACDE)
Unlocking Financing for Advancing Energy Efficiency
The panel focused on views from different financial support organisations on how to help unlock investment and scale up energy efficiency across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Moderator: Melanie Slade, Senior Programme Manager, IEA
Panellists:
- Alexia Levesque, Regional Director for Mexico, Cuba and Central America. French Development Agency (AFD)
- Joscha Rosenbusch, Director of the Partnership for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB)
- Ricardo García, Climate Change Coordinator, KfW
- Maria Ariaza, CEO, Institutional Stock Exchange (BIVA)
There were also other participants from the Caribbean (and this was the largest Caribbean contingent that people could remember):
Transport: Antonio Sealy (GIZ), Gracelyn Victorin (St Lucia), Kamisha Redhead (Grenada), Leon Gentle (Belize), Nicholaus Taylor (Jamaica) and Giovanni Buckle (Barbados/CCREEE)
Indicators and Evaluation: Deon Kelly (Belize) and Denise Tulloch (Jamaica)
