European Energy Efficiency: Is Success Transferable?

Panel: Panel 1: Energy Efficiency policies, programmes and their links

Authors:
Martine Uyterlinde, Netherlands Energy Research Foundation
Toon van Harmelen, Netherlands Energy Research Foundation
Joanne Wade, Association for the Conservation of Energy

Abstract

The paper presents the preliminary results of research on energy efficiency policy success stories and recent energy conservation studies in seven European countries.

This paper presents some preliminary results from European Commission funded research on energy conservation studies and energy efficiency policy success stories in seven European countries. A selection of studies, policies and programmes, from Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, are considered. The focus is on the domestic and industrial sectors.

Fiscal, regulatory, educational and institutional initiatives are included in a policy review. Policies are compared against the aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The cost-effectiveness of the policies is also estimated. The results are not quantified: rather a series of symbols are employed to demonstrate the relative performance of policies against the defined aims. Following these assessments, the success and possible transferability of policies is considered.

Studies of energy conservation potentials in each of the countries are compared, using a classification method developed for the purpose. The comparison highlights the diversity of approaches and assumptions used in the studies. Preliminary suggestions for the reasons explaining this diversity are put forward.

The paper concludes with a discussion of the progress made and problems encountered during the review process. Suggestions are made for further research to address the barriers to policy comparison and transfer, and areas which are being considered in ongoing research are identified.