Energy sufficiency: how can research better help and inform policy-making?

Panel: 2. What's next in energy policy?

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Edouard Toulouse, France
Marlyne Sahakian, University of Geneva, Sociology Department, Switzerland
Sylvia Lorek, Sustainable Europe Research Institute, Germany, Germany
Katharina Bohnenberger, Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie, Germany
Anja Bierwirth, Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie, Germany
Leon Leuser, Europa Universität Flensburg, Germany

Abstract

The concept of sufficiency – reducing energy uses beyond technical efficiency – is far-reaching and requires a reflection on human needs, energy services, urban structures, social norms, and the role of policies to support the shift towards lower-energy societies. In recent years, a growing body of literature has been published on energy sufficiency in various disciplines. However, there has been limited exchanges and cooperation among researchers so far, hindering the visibility and impact of this research.

This paper presents an assessment of where sufficiency research stands, especially in the perspective of policy-making. It is the first overview paper issued in the context of the newly-founded ENOUGH network – International network for sufficiency research & policy, established in 2017.

In the first part, we provide a condensed literature review on energy sufficiency, based on dozens of recent references collected through the network. Through four main themes (the nature of sufficiency, the challenges of modelling it, the barriers to its diffusion, and the approaches to foster it), we summarise the key issues and approaches.

We then present what the scholars themselves see as the priorities for future research, promising sufficiency policy options, and key barriers that research should help overcome. We collected their views through a questionnaire completed by more than 40 knowledgeable authors and experts from various disciplines.

We finally build on the previous parts to draw some recommendations on how sufficiency research could increase its impact, notably in relation to policy-making.