In an era of increasingly high oil and gas prices, concerns about CO² emissions, and uncertainty about the security of supply, energy policy has come to dominate political discourse around the world. To date, the energy debate has centered largely on how to secure future energy supply and how to finance research into alternative sources of fuel. While these concerns are important, no energy policy will succeed without first mining our immense energy efficiency opportunities. After all, what's the point of increasing supplies that are destined to be wasted?

The good news is that there is a very large opportunity to moderate energy demand growth in economically attractive ways--and, in the process, cut CO₂ emissions. Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) kicked off the event with a major announcement and speech on energy, security and climate policy for the United States. And the McKinsey Global Institute unveiled the findings of their ground-breaking report Curbing Global Energy Demand Growth: The Energy Productivity Opportunity, offering a new fact base and policy options to curb energy demand.

To read Gov. Richardson's keynote address, please click here.