Abstract
Abstract Energy efficiency policy has been one of the European Union top priorities for decades and will continue to play a vital role in the next 10 years with the introduction of The Clean energy for all Europeans. Likewise, in Latvia energy efficiency has been given high priority; however, the energy efficiency targets for industry has lacked ambitions. This research focuses on evaluating the Latvian industrial energy efficiency policy using top-down approach and benchmarking energy intensity of Latvian industry to the average of the European Union’s. Results confirm that on average Latvian industry consumes 2.6 times more energy to produce the same amount of value added compared to the average in the European Union; however, every saved energy unit in Latvia would save twice less CO2 emissions considering already largely decarbonized energy mix. In the spotlights of the Green Deal proposed by the European Commission, much higher contribution in terms of CO2 reduction and energy efficiency will be expected from the industry. Nevertheless, energy efficiency targets for Latvian industry should be sector-specific, separately addressing CO2 intensive sectors, and non-intensive CO2 sectors with low added value.
Highlights
Energy efficiency policy has been one of the top priorities in European Union (EU) for more than 25 years
The research confirmed that on a macro level Latvian industry has higher energy intensity compared to the EU average levels as well as peers from Germany, Estonia and Lithuania
There is a visible trend of decreasing energy intensity in Latvian industry, national energy efficiency plans show that energy intensity will remain relatively high in the decade, not even reaching today’s EU average
Summary
Energy efficiency policy has been one of the top priorities in European Union (EU) for more than 25 years. Directives impose increasing mandatory energy efficiency targets to the Member States, the particular way to reach the energy efficiency targets is up to the Member States themselves [1]–[4] Another key aspect of energy efficiency policy implementation is the increased focus on the industrial sector as it is one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG). The Clean energy for all Europeans [6] envisages even more ambitious energy efficiency targets and recognizes essential importance of energy efficiency improvements to the environment, public health, reduction of GHG emissions and energy security by reducing dependence on energy imports from outside the EU Even more so, it will cut energy costs for households and companies, help to reduce energy poverty, and lead to an increased
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