Energy Efficiency and Policy Mix in the European Countries

Although countries have had concerns about energy security and energy supply for a long time, global warming and other environmental problems have led to increased interest in renewable energy use and energy efficiency only in the last decades. On the one hand, energy efficiency is important for cost-effective use of resources, overcoming environmental problems, and improving energy security. On the other hand, it is important for increasing living standards and life quality of inhabitants. Therefore, many countries have developed energy efficiency policies since 1970s. Among them, the EU countries appear as in a very good shape in policy design and innovation policies. Energy efficiency policies and their instruments are inherently complex due to the sectoral diversity, a variety of audience and uses. However, the success of a policy could largely depend on the process of policy making with regard to the characteristics of the policy, instruments and measures used, stakeholders involved and its targets. This paper aims to examine the effect of policy packages on the impact level of policies and to search if there is any efficient combination of policy instruments, based on the data of the MURE project which is a unique database on energy efficiency policy measures in 28 EU countries and Norway. First, the study provides an insight into the energy efficiency policies in European Countries by their sectoral distribution, targeted end-use and measure types to determine policy mix and policy trend. Later, it analyzes the policy packages to determine if the policy mix with respect to sectors, actors and measures has any effect on semi-quantitative impact levels of policies through cross-tabulations. The main finding of the paper is that the policy mix is crucial for policy success. Key wordsEnergy Policy, European Union, Energy Efficiency, MURE Project