Toothless tiger? Is the EU action plan on energy efficiency sufficient to reach its target?

Anja Scholten, Institute for Geography, University of Würzburg, Germany
Dirk Mitze, Stefan Lechtenböhmer, and Stefan Thomas, Wuppertal Institute, Germany

Keywords

energy saving, energy efficiency, EU energy scenarios and strategies, EU Action Plan on energy efficiency

Abstract

Motivated by, inter alia, the increasing energy prices, the security of energy supply and climate change, the new EU ”Action Plan for Energy Efficiency: Realising the Potential” (EEAP), sets out the policies and measures required to be implemented over the next six years to achieve the EU’s goal of reducing annual primary energy consumption by about 20 % by 2020. By increasing energy efficiency, the security of energy supply and the reduction of carbon emissions are also improved.

The paper will analyse the 20 % target of the new EEAP for the energy demand side by comparison with different recent energy scenarios for the EU. It will therefore review the recommended policies and measures and examine, in which energy demand sectors energy efficiency may be increased and to which extend. The main focus is whether the recommended policies and actions will be sufficient and which additional measures may be useful, if additional measures are needed.