# Energy Efficiency Policies to Face Buildings' Climate Change Effects in Paraguay
## 5 Conclusions
One cannot consider energy transition without considering energy efficiency since the efficient use of energy represents the second pillar of the energy transition, where the first pillar is the expansion of renewables. To create a suitable and profitable energy transition pathway, a developing country and emerging economy as Paraguay must consider that this process involves all levels of government, the businesses and the entire population. Additionally, the energy transition is a process which requires a precise and clear roadmap, with a holistic overview, identifying key projects, setting monitoring campaigns and especially, requiring good cooperation among all involved parts [97]. Along with this, the same approach is necessary to improve energy efficiency levels, since it also requires an interaction between multiple actors that generate multiple actions at multiple levels [98]. In summary, the progress made by Paraguay regarding EE is not yet very tangible; however, it should be noted that at least there is already a tendency to raise awareness regarding the importance of the efficient use of available energy resources. Nevertheless, it is important to emphasise that decisive political actions are required to accomplish all the proposed objectives and to reach significant results. To this purpose, coherent institutional governance is required, which must be characterised by a high technical capacity, with committed and motivated human capital and having the tools to intervene and enforce policies and regulations [99]. It is worth noting that energy efficiency, besides being a key factor for the energy transition pathway, increases energy security, helps save money to all people involved (consumers, businesses) and is environmentally friendly. Through the analysis of Paraguay's energy policies, it was verified that the EE is part of the public policies of the country and since the creation of the CNEE, the programs and projects in this area have been intensified. However, six years after the creation of this committee, the progress achieved is neither tangible nor numerous, but they represent the first steps. It is important to mention that since the publication of the Energy Policy Paraguay 2040, the country has shown interest in energy sustainability, and despite having a large gross domestic supply of electricity, it is concerned about future energy scenarios. However, according to the regulatory functions influencing energy efficiency developed in [100], Paraguay has just made the first step in public policy, and it is still required to develop regulatory functions (set performance standards and monitor them, perform management audits, develop human resources, etc.) and the utility programs (offer customer incentives such as subsidies or tax advantages, etc.) For this reason, it is important that, from now on, the government sets priorities and can define local financial funds for this sector to work reliably on the proposed actions. Thus, the country will be able to overcome the barriers and to accomplish the objectives set. Regarding the barriers identified, the country's leaders should consider specific strategies to overcome them, where experiences of other countries (described in Section 4) should be reviewed to take as examples the projects developed and to adapt them to its own needs. It is also important to emphasise that the energy sector weaknesses of Paraguay not only affect the country itself but also affect the neighbouring countries to which Paraguay exports its energy surplus. Furthermore, it is important to recognise the economic factor, since Paraguay's overall economic growth depends, in part, on the economic benefits received from energy export. In the pursuit of continuing to receive these economic resources, and considering the great potential of energy saving, Paraguay should invest in the implementation of strategies focused on reducing local energy consumption, considering that with small actions great savings could be achieved.