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Energy efficiency is, in principle, a simple idea: an output of human value, for example, vehicle-km traveled, divided by the needed input energy. Efficiency improvements are regarded as an important means of mitigating not only climate change, but also other environmental problems. Despite the vast number of articles published on energy efficiency, a few people question whether it is a useful or accurate measure in its present form; nearly all papers are either engineering studies, or address barriers to efficiency improvements. This review addresses this issue via a critical review of the literature, including not only papers on energy efficiency, but those on adjacent areas of research that can help broaden the scope, both geographically and conceptually. These shortcomings are illustrated in case studies of buildings/cities and road passenger transport. The main findings of this review are that (1) energy efficiency inevitably has an ethical dimension, as well as a technical one, in that feedbacks are more widespread than they have generally considered to be, and (2) that conventional efficiency measures omit important energy input items, particularly those concerned with the mining the materials needed for renewable energy plants. The key conclusions are that present efficiency measures are not adequate, and future research is needed to overcome these shortcomings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Africa, switching to renewable energy sources with low carbon emissions is becoming more popular. In the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS), the low-carbon energy transition must overcome significant obstacles, including those posed by policies put in place and their implementation. In order to replace the current fossil fuel-driven economy with low-carbon development that also advances the regional aims and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this paper analyzes the current policy landscape in the region. A total of 75 policies from four categories (energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change) were chosen for the policy review. Multicriteria decision analysis and a thorough review of the literature have shed light on how well the policies of the ECOWAS countries could promote low-carbon development and what the main challenges to overcome are. The last step was the comparison of the progress of the two key policies in the region: the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) and National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP). The results illustrate the amount of work still needing to be done in the region, with only 26 of the 75 policies receiving a score above 50. However, the prospect of a better energy strategy that adequately considers the difficulties of the energy transition is possible, given the progress made by the region's nations since the creation of national action plans for energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE). Our analysis has also shown that countries like Senegal have obtained quite promising results, as evidenced by the best scores of 76.88 and 73.25, respectively, obtained by its NREAP and NEEAP policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]