New dogmas for sustainable energy efficiency policy – thinking outside the box

Panel: 8. Dynamics of consumption

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Lene K. Nielsen, Danish Energy Agency/Energistyrelsen
, Denmark

Abstract

A huge range of incentives are settled for increasing energy efficiency and reducing the energy consumption.

The measures are taken on local, national and international level and they comprise all energy consuming sectors. Normally measures are chosen from comprehensive studies of saving potentials, costs and benefits, available instruments (normative, economic or informative) build upon assumptions of rational human behaviour and known technology etc., and the effect of the policy incentives are supposed to be additive.

If the climate goals shall be reached in due time there is hovever a need to rethink the energy efficiency planning concept – ‘Thinking outside the box’.

The paper will suggest a new set of ‘dogmas’ for future energy efficiency policy, of which several elements are transferred from other disciplines than the energy efficiency research (i.e. psychology, social science, political science etc).

Each dogma will be analyzed and explained separately and the intention is to explain how a modern society in a globalized world can combine the challenges in the society with benefit for a sustainable energy efficient future.

Some of the key-words for the dogmas are:

Innovation, holistic thinking (supply and consumption), how to afford to be an energy consumer with good conscience, the need for listening, understand and learn human behaviour, changing from traditional into collaborative planning, democracy and energy efficiency, future lifestyle patterns.

Through studies of energy behaviour have been undertaken for decades as well as innovation and the influence on energy consumption, it seems, that such considerations in real life has been too complicated to include in actual planning. The paper will also discuss this issue.