The invisible thread that accelerates the energy transition

As we put all our efforts into bringing together the elements of the clean energy transition, we have to make sure that all components work together and benefit everyone. International standards are the invisible thread that holds this transformation together, ensuring grids stay reliable, clean energy solutions deliver on their promise and investors have the confidence to scale up clean technologies. Yet, too often, these essential frameworks are overlooked.

Why International Standards Matter

International standards establish a common framework for safety, reliability, efficiency, interoperability, and performance, enabling global trade and fostering consumer and investor trust in technologies for the energy transition. Without standards and conformity assessment systems, fragmentation emerges, where products don’t work together, energy systems are unreliable and consumers and investors lack confidence in the technologies.

Take electrification, for example. Without clear grid interoperability standards, renewable energy sources remain isolated, unable to seamlessly connect to national grids or be traded across regions. Countries need common technical specifications to ensure that power systems integrate clean energy efficiently and reliably. Another example is energy efficiency. Standards ensure that an LED lightbulb in Kenya is just as efficient as one in Germany, or that a solar panel installed in a rural village meets the same performance benchmarks as one in an urban center.

International standards and conformity assessment can help ensure energy systems deployed in vulnerable regions are not only affordable but also durable and efficient, maximizing the benefits for communities that need them most. Standards don’t just enable the energy transition—they ensure it is reliable, and fair.

Unlocking Investments

International standards and conformity assessments mitigate the risks that often make investors hesitant to back clean energy and energy efficiency technologies. This is crucial in mobilizing the USD 5 trillion in annual investments by 2030, necessary to enable a successful energy transition.

Conformity assessments further reduce uncertainty by verifying that these technologies perform as promised, protecting against failures that could undermine confidence in clean energy markets. Standardized compliance and auditing frameworks also harmonize regulations across borders, making it easier for capital to flow into bankable and scalable energy projects. Another key benefit of international standards and conformity assessments is that they promote scalability. When energy solutions such as solar panels or wind turbines are built according to globally recognized standards, they can be deployed more widely and at a lower cost. This standardization reduces the complexity of designing manufacturing and servicing new systems for each market, allowing innovations to scale rapidly across borders.

Global Collaboration to Ensure No One is Left Behind

While international standards and conformity assessment systems offer significant benefits, their widespread adoption faces challenges, particularly in developing countries. Barriers such as lack of local expertise, insufficient regulatory frameworks and high upfront compliance costs can impede progress. For the transition to be truly just, developing countries must have a seat at the table when international standards are set. The international standards development process encourages the participation of experts from developing countries, ensuring that standards are fit for purpose, consensus-based, and centered on real-world needs.

To affirm the role of international standardization and conformity assessment in the just energy transition the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) created the IEC Global Impact Fund. The Fund ensures international standards improve the lives of people and communities around the world, unlocks the benefits of safe and sustainable electricity, builds capacity to create a better future, and develops solutions to achieve sustainability goals.

Sustainable Energy for All and the IEC Global Impact Fund are joining forces at the SEforALL Global Forum  to amplify the role of international standards in driving just and inclusive energy transitions, embracing collaborative processes to mobilize finance, strengthening the voices of developing nations and making sure the energy transition does not leave any one behind.