1100 EU expert country ranking: overall slow progress in national policy implementation

(eceee news, 8 Apr 2016) Following an extensive on-line survey and interviews with more than 1100 EU energy efficiency experts, the second Energy Efficiency Watch Survey report has now been published. Implementation of energy efficiency remains a challenge in most EU member states, the survey reveals.

The report tracks the implementation results of the second National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPS) in each of the 28 Member States. The aim is to learn from stakeholders and experts how they see the progress of energy efficiency policies and their implementation in different sectors in their respective country.

Starting in 2006, Energy Efficiency Watch (EEW) projects accompanied this process. The EEW facilitates the implementation of EU energy efficiency policies by collecting information on this process and by providing this information to a variety of stakeholders, including European, national, regional, local policy makers and experts.

The below graph shows how the experts see the progress in energy efficiency policies in their country in the last 3 years.


Click image to enlarge

By applying specific progress indicators, the survey offers not only a comparison, but also a ranking of the different Member States regarding their policy progress in the field of energy efficiency.

More than 1100 experts from all EU Member States have given their opinion on the progress of energy efficiency policies in their countries, both through an online quantitative survey and a qualitative survey through in depth interviews. For this purpose almost 90 experts were interviewed (three in each MS).

The report finds that, despite good developments in some countries and in some policy fields, the overall progress is still much too slow or nearly absent in several Member States. Results show a large disparity among Member States’ levels of ambition and progress of efficiency policies.

The survey showed enormous disparity among Member States in levels of ambition and progress of energy efficiency policies - just as the 2012 survey had. Comparing the level of progress across Member States to the 2012 survey, quite a lot of "up-and-down" movements can be observed. This was often triggered by changes in national governments which resulted in either more or less interest and priority for energy efficiency. Austerity policies also had an impact on the availability of funding programmes for energy efficiency in some Member States.

The following table shows a ranking in the levels of progress of the Member States from the 2015 survey (in blue) and the 2012 survey (in grey).


Click image to enlarge

The study concludes that these ups-and-downs in energy efficiency policy will continue as long as the multiple benefits of energy efficiency are not sufficiently understood by national policy makers and stakeholders and have not become an integral part of security and economic policy - instead of "just" a climate policy.

Other criteria for ranking are, for instance, whether countries are on track to meet the NZEB target or the achievement of the national 1.5 % savings target.

The report was produced within the European IEE-funded project Energy Efficiency Watch (EEW) led by Eufores. The report was authored by staff from project partner OÖ Energiesparverband with contributions from the University of Linz as well as EEW project partners FEDARENE, ECEEE and Energy Cities. Analyses of the NEEAPs carried out by Wuppertal Institute and Ecofys will be published shortly.

To see how each country was ranked in the survey, please see the report.