On November 14-15, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) of Peru and the Department of Sustainable Development of the Organization of American States (OAS), which operates the ECPA Clearinghouse, co-hosted the II Regional Symposium on Energy Efficiency in Lima. The Symposium addressed specific activities intended to foster energy efficiency at the national and regional levels in South America.

A roundtable on the ECPA pillar of energy efficiency was held during the event. The South American government officials who participated in the roundtable provided their feedback for a Working Document on Regional Cooperation in Energy Efficiency. The governments recognized energy efficiency as a cross-cutting theme related to the generation, distribution and consumption of energy in all its forms. They also acknowledged the fact that saving energy is cheaper than increasing generation, yields great environmental benefits such as the curbing greenhouse gas emissions, and provides financial benefits to consumers. Most governments represented at the event stated that they are working on developing new national energy efficiency policies and reinvigorating existing ones.

The Working Document will continue to evolve, aggregating the priorities, needs, opportunities and recommendations on energy efficiency as expressed by government officials from other regions of the Americas in an effort to represent a large number of countries in the hemisphere. In addition to the recent meeting in Peru, the Working Document also takes into consideration the feedback from the Seminar on Innovation, Science and Technology for the Energy-Efficient Development of Central America held in Liberia, Costa Rica, on September 10, 2012, and the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on October 15-17.

During the event, the Government of Bolivia expressed its interest in receiving technical assistance through the ECPA Energy Efficiency working group to develop its own national energy efficiency policy. The Governments of Argentina and Uruguay showed interest in engaging more actively in the activities undertaken under the ECPA pillars, especially the energy efficiency pillar. Finally, the Government of Peru offered to chair the energy poverty pillar.