Abstract
The ambition of energy policy has long been to reduce carbon emissions, secure energy supply and provide affordable energy services. In recent years an increasing number of policy instruments have been introduced to promote energy efficiency in different sectors across the EU. While previous research has largely analysed the effectiveness of individual policy instruments and their impact on the diffusion of particular energy efficient technologies or practices, our analysis takes a broader view and examines the mix of existing policies aimed at stimulating reductions in energy use. The empirical focus of the paper is on policy goals and instruments aimed at stimulating energy efficiency in buildings in Finland and the United Kingdom (UK). We trace the development of the policy mixes during 2000–2014 and analyse their emerging overall characteristics. The analysis is based on a mapping of policy goals and instruments, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. We find that both countries have increasingly complex policy mixes, encompassing a variety of goals and instruments and make use of a range of different instrument types to encourage users to reduce their energy consumption. Despite the shared EU influence, the way in which the policy mixes have evolved in both countries were found to be quite different.
Highlights
Stimulating energy efficiency is an important part of many policy strategies aimed at addressing energy and climate policy objectives
We argue that our paper adds value to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of building energy efficiency policy mixes in two countries and by examining how they develop over time, rather than contributing to discussions trying to identify ‘ideal’ policy packages
In energy policy discussions amongst both policy makers and academics, there is an increasing interest in the effects of combinations of goals and instruments and how they evolve over time
Summary
Stimulating energy efficiency is an important part of many policy strategies aimed at addressing energy and climate policy objectives. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), stimulating energy efficiency of buildings has a number of potential benefits which include public expenditure savings of around €30-40b across Europe as well as improved occupant health and well-being (IEA 2014). “Finland’s building stock is relatively energy-efficient as the cold climate has naturally encouraged the adoption of energy-efficient technologies...guided by national legislation since 1976” (IEA 2013, p.50). The responsibility for climate and energy policy is distributed across several ministries. Several departments have responsibility for building energy efficiency (DECC, 2014a). Overall responsibility for energy efficiency has been with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). 7 The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is responsible for minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings. Some programmes were delivered by the Carbon Trust (business energy efficiency) or the Energy Saving Trust (domestic energy efficiency)
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