1. The British Psychological Society provided comments on the EU Green Paper on sustainable energy. It notes that behavioral changes by consumers and producers are essential to achieving carbon reduction goals, in addition to technological developments. Psychological research can help policymakers understand how to influence energy behaviors.
2. The document expresses concern that the Green Paper places little attention on controlling and reducing energy demand. A strategy for sustainable energy consumption across Europe is needed to balance the current focus on supply.
3. For a sustainable energy policy, equal priority should be given to carbon emissions as to economic costs when evaluating policy options. This would encourage consideration of alternative energy sources beyond current emphases on economic growth and energy prices.
Francois Bafoil and Rachel Guyet - Fuel poverty and governance in Europe: a c...Harriet Thomson
Based on a joint research Sciences Po / EDF R&D we compared different policies in Europe addressing fuel poverty from an institutionalist approach (Great Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Hungary). Because these policies are embedded in different types of governance
inherited from different institutional and historical dynamics, we intended to understand the extent to which these different legal architectures determine 1. the public policies 2. the local innovation dealing with energy poverty. We concluded that the Europeanization process is weak in the field of energy access and that the actions carried out by the public authorities are embedded in their path dependent governance.
If the liberalization process has affected all EU Member States, the policy towards vulnerable energy consumers still depends on the sovereign States. But in all Member States the liberalization process deepened the long lasting and structural phenomenon of energy poverty. This situation resulted in different approaches in terms of definition, targeting and policies. We concluded that because the fuel poor are hard to know and to identify a part of them is invisible to the public authorities and therefore the public policies missed their targets. As a consequence the number of fuel poor doesn’t really decrease – or only slightly – despite the funds, both public an private, invested in the fight against fuel poverty.
As a result the local level is the governance level where innovative initiatives take place in order to compensate for the state and market failures. They usually promote a global approach to the problem of energy access including preventive and curative measures based on public-private and NGO partnerships. If social innovations are carried out at this level in the western part of Europe, the lack of civil society in most of eastern European countries makes it harder for local social innovations to emerge. The local authorities still remains the last social net. The analysis of local innovations shows how path dependent trajectories
impacts the way central and local actors deal with the issue of fuel poverty.
Energy costs are fast increasing in the United Kingdom. This is a major concern that is being a significant political issue at present. The UK Government is not only striving to handle the costs issues but also wants to present a energy strategy that will serve as a complete transition to a mix of renewable energy sources. Given this context, this report outlines a few key elements of the UK energy strategy going forward towards 2050. Particular points included are that of the mixed energy sources that will be present in the UK, the costs issue and a SWOT on some of the factors affecting the energy sector.
Stefan Bouzarovski - Services and vulnerability: approaching domestic energy ...Harriet Thomson
This paper charts the emergent body of new frameworks for the research and amelioration of energy deprivation in the home. It starts from the premise that all forms of energy and fuel poverty - in developed and developing countries alike - are underpinned by a common condition: the inability to attain a socially- and materially-necessitated level of domestic energy services. The functions provided by energy demand in the residential domain are considered in order to advance two claims: First, that domestic energy deprivation in its different guises and forms is fundamentally tied to the ineffective operation of the sociotechnical pathways that allow for the fulfilment of household energy needs, and as such is best understood by unpacking the constitution of different energy services (heating, lighting, etc.) in the home. Second, the paper emphasizes the ability of vulnerability thinking to encapsulate the driving forces of domestic energy deprivation via a comprehensive analytical framework. This leads to an identification of the main components and implications of energy service and vulnerability approaches as they relate to domestic energy deprivation across the world.
Jennni Cauvain Energy - vulnerability in multiple occupancy housing: a proble...Harriet Thomson
Housing in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) is an important shared housing solution for a diverse group of people in urban areas. HMOs are poorly understood by policies governing energy efficiency and fuel poverty, due to methodological problems of energy efficiency assessment, a deep-seated lack of representation and recognition of HMOs in general, and the societal marginalisation and stigmatisation of this type of housing. People in HMOs (e.g. new migrants, asylum seekers, students, young people) typically have reduced housing and welfare rights, whereas the buildings are extremely energy inefficient. Yet, HMOs have been substantially excluded from the UK government’s proposed minimum energy efficiency standard for the private rented sector. There is no definition of fuel poverty that applies if rent is inclusive of energy costs, the bills are shared, or where rental agreements are nonexistent or illegal; these are everyday occurrences in HMOs. There is a substantial coming together of socio-political and material issues giving rise to higher energy vulnerability in HMOs than in traditional single-family homes. This article focuses on the dynamic between UK policy mechanisms and regulations, and energy vulnerability in HMOs. An indicative typology of HMOs is proposed with the aim to provide a basis for the recognition and inclusion of HMOs in legal and policy frameworks.
Gordon Walker - What energy uses matter? Fuel poverty beyond heatingHarriet Thomson
Fuel poverty policy seeks to make the use of energy affordable, particularly for those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable. But what uses of household energy should this policy be concerned with? In the UK energy for heating is readily seen as essential because of the need for people to keep warm and healthy in their homes. Fuel poverty policy does recognise the need for household expenditure on other forms of energy use – for lighting, cooking, water
heating and appliances - but the rationale for seeing these as necessities that should be affordable for all has rarely been articulated. In our work we have examined the grounds on which energy uses can be considered essential for enabling a minimally-decent quality of life, drawing on both theoretical ideas and empirical evidence. This research has implications for the scope of current fuel poverty policy, and its overriding concern with affordable warmth rather than with supporting other outcomes from the use of energy.
Francois Bafoil and Rachel Guyet - Fuel poverty and governance in Europe: a c...Harriet Thomson
Based on a joint research Sciences Po / EDF R&D we compared different policies in Europe addressing fuel poverty from an institutionalist approach (Great Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Hungary). Because these policies are embedded in different types of governance
inherited from different institutional and historical dynamics, we intended to understand the extent to which these different legal architectures determine 1. the public policies 2. the local innovation dealing with energy poverty. We concluded that the Europeanization process is weak in the field of energy access and that the actions carried out by the public authorities are embedded in their path dependent governance.
If the liberalization process has affected all EU Member States, the policy towards vulnerable energy consumers still depends on the sovereign States. But in all Member States the liberalization process deepened the long lasting and structural phenomenon of energy poverty. This situation resulted in different approaches in terms of definition, targeting and policies. We concluded that because the fuel poor are hard to know and to identify a part of them is invisible to the public authorities and therefore the public policies missed their targets. As a consequence the number of fuel poor doesn’t really decrease – or only slightly – despite the funds, both public an private, invested in the fight against fuel poverty.
As a result the local level is the governance level where innovative initiatives take place in order to compensate for the state and market failures. They usually promote a global approach to the problem of energy access including preventive and curative measures based on public-private and NGO partnerships. If social innovations are carried out at this level in the western part of Europe, the lack of civil society in most of eastern European countries makes it harder for local social innovations to emerge. The local authorities still remains the last social net. The analysis of local innovations shows how path dependent trajectories
impacts the way central and local actors deal with the issue of fuel poverty.
Energy costs are fast increasing in the United Kingdom. This is a major concern that is being a significant political issue at present. The UK Government is not only striving to handle the costs issues but also wants to present a energy strategy that will serve as a complete transition to a mix of renewable energy sources. Given this context, this report outlines a few key elements of the UK energy strategy going forward towards 2050. Particular points included are that of the mixed energy sources that will be present in the UK, the costs issue and a SWOT on some of the factors affecting the energy sector.
Stefan Bouzarovski - Services and vulnerability: approaching domestic energy ...Harriet Thomson
This paper charts the emergent body of new frameworks for the research and amelioration of energy deprivation in the home. It starts from the premise that all forms of energy and fuel poverty - in developed and developing countries alike - are underpinned by a common condition: the inability to attain a socially- and materially-necessitated level of domestic energy services. The functions provided by energy demand in the residential domain are considered in order to advance two claims: First, that domestic energy deprivation in its different guises and forms is fundamentally tied to the ineffective operation of the sociotechnical pathways that allow for the fulfilment of household energy needs, and as such is best understood by unpacking the constitution of different energy services (heating, lighting, etc.) in the home. Second, the paper emphasizes the ability of vulnerability thinking to encapsulate the driving forces of domestic energy deprivation via a comprehensive analytical framework. This leads to an identification of the main components and implications of energy service and vulnerability approaches as they relate to domestic energy deprivation across the world.
Jennni Cauvain Energy - vulnerability in multiple occupancy housing: a proble...Harriet Thomson
Housing in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) is an important shared housing solution for a diverse group of people in urban areas. HMOs are poorly understood by policies governing energy efficiency and fuel poverty, due to methodological problems of energy efficiency assessment, a deep-seated lack of representation and recognition of HMOs in general, and the societal marginalisation and stigmatisation of this type of housing. People in HMOs (e.g. new migrants, asylum seekers, students, young people) typically have reduced housing and welfare rights, whereas the buildings are extremely energy inefficient. Yet, HMOs have been substantially excluded from the UK government’s proposed minimum energy efficiency standard for the private rented sector. There is no definition of fuel poverty that applies if rent is inclusive of energy costs, the bills are shared, or where rental agreements are nonexistent or illegal; these are everyday occurrences in HMOs. There is a substantial coming together of socio-political and material issues giving rise to higher energy vulnerability in HMOs than in traditional single-family homes. This article focuses on the dynamic between UK policy mechanisms and regulations, and energy vulnerability in HMOs. An indicative typology of HMOs is proposed with the aim to provide a basis for the recognition and inclusion of HMOs in legal and policy frameworks.
Gordon Walker - What energy uses matter? Fuel poverty beyond heatingHarriet Thomson
Fuel poverty policy seeks to make the use of energy affordable, particularly for those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable. But what uses of household energy should this policy be concerned with? In the UK energy for heating is readily seen as essential because of the need for people to keep warm and healthy in their homes. Fuel poverty policy does recognise the need for household expenditure on other forms of energy use – for lighting, cooking, water
heating and appliances - but the rationale for seeing these as necessities that should be affordable for all has rarely been articulated. In our work we have examined the grounds on which energy uses can be considered essential for enabling a minimally-decent quality of life, drawing on both theoretical ideas and empirical evidence. This research has implications for the scope of current fuel poverty policy, and its overriding concern with affordable warmth rather than with supporting other outcomes from the use of energy.
A Civil Society Organization & Networks Position Paper with suggested Issues...Dr. Joshua Zake
This is a Renewable Energy CSOs & Network's Position Paper on the Uganda National Renewable Renewable Energy Policy, 2007. The major objective of the CSO Position Paper is to provide targeted recommendations for consideration during the Renewable Energy Policy, 2007 (MEMD, 2007) review by the MEMD.
The suggested recommendations are based on the CSO’s engagements in the energy sector at the national and local levels
Sergio Tirado Herrero - Spaces and politics of energy vulnerability in HungaryHarriet Thomson
This paper explores the embeddedness of energy poverty – understood as the inability to secure a socially- and materially-necessitated level of energy services in the home – in the socio-technical legacies inherited from past development trajectories, as well as broader economic and institutional landscapes. Using Hungary as an example, the paper investigates the recent expansion of energy poverty across different demographic and income groups.
While much of the mainstream literature focuses on cases where energy poverty affects distinct social groups and issues, the focus of this paper the systemic implications of a form of deprivation that is affecting a much wider range of social and spatial strata. It scrutinizes the different ways in which inadequate access to energy services has resulted in the emergence of new political reconfigurations among a variety of actors, while prompting the articulation of household strategies with far-reaching structural consequences.
IHS Markit Report: Advancing the Landscape of Clean Energy InnovationEnergy for One World
opinion/ report by study group IHS Market and former Sec. Energy Moniz, and commissioned by Breakthrough Energy ( Bill Gates et. al).
Not necessary our EFOW practice views- for more information: please consult with our practice!
Carolyn Snell - Heat or Eat: food and austerity in Rural EnglandHarriet Thomson
This presentation is based on a project aimed at exploring the theme of food and austerity through the lens of one of the most high profile, yet under-evidenced, phenomena in the current era of austerity: the decision to ‘heat or eat’. There is increased policy discussion about households having to make stark choices between ‘heating and eating’ and the driver of this phenomena is perceived to be the relative flexibility of food and fuel costs compared to other household expenses. However, the evidence base that exists is largely made up of single household case studies and small scale surveys conducted by NGOs, and is rarely the central focus of the research in which it appears. Moreover, existing evidence pays little or no attention to spatial disparities within such debates, largely ignoring the very different, and often more challenging circumstances faced by the rural poor, including disparate and more stretched public services, a limited and energy inefficient housing stock, and restricted access to cheaper forms of fuel such as mains gas. With support from National Energy
Action and the Trussell Trust foodbank Network this project will scrutinise the ‘heat or eat’ dilemma in a rural context, investigating the legitimacy and complexity of such claims, and critically assessing existing and potential policy responses.
Energy innovation es8928 - renewable energy policy handbook -final m coviMarco Covi
A handbook for policy makers in the renewable energy field in Ontario. The handbook places a heavy importance on better consultation and public education on energy matters when it comes to the planning of large-scale energy projects and makes several suggestions on how to improve this. The handbook is timely as it was written in the context of the 2013 LTEP. In addition it serves as an accessible scientific reference guide for decision-makers and the broader public alike.
Kuching | Jan-15 | Off-grid Solution for Provisioning Energy AccessSmart Villages
The second in our series of workshops designed to gather input from stakeholders involved in existing off-grid projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This event is workshop scheduled to be held in Malaysia for the ASEAN countries will be organised by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
A Civil Society Organization & Networks Position Paper with suggested Issues...Dr. Joshua Zake
This is a Renewable Energy CSOs & Network's Position Paper on the Uganda National Renewable Renewable Energy Policy, 2007. The major objective of the CSO Position Paper is to provide targeted recommendations for consideration during the Renewable Energy Policy, 2007 (MEMD, 2007) review by the MEMD.
The suggested recommendations are based on the CSO’s engagements in the energy sector at the national and local levels
Sergio Tirado Herrero - Spaces and politics of energy vulnerability in HungaryHarriet Thomson
This paper explores the embeddedness of energy poverty – understood as the inability to secure a socially- and materially-necessitated level of energy services in the home – in the socio-technical legacies inherited from past development trajectories, as well as broader economic and institutional landscapes. Using Hungary as an example, the paper investigates the recent expansion of energy poverty across different demographic and income groups.
While much of the mainstream literature focuses on cases where energy poverty affects distinct social groups and issues, the focus of this paper the systemic implications of a form of deprivation that is affecting a much wider range of social and spatial strata. It scrutinizes the different ways in which inadequate access to energy services has resulted in the emergence of new political reconfigurations among a variety of actors, while prompting the articulation of household strategies with far-reaching structural consequences.
IHS Markit Report: Advancing the Landscape of Clean Energy InnovationEnergy for One World
opinion/ report by study group IHS Market and former Sec. Energy Moniz, and commissioned by Breakthrough Energy ( Bill Gates et. al).
Not necessary our EFOW practice views- for more information: please consult with our practice!
Carolyn Snell - Heat or Eat: food and austerity in Rural EnglandHarriet Thomson
This presentation is based on a project aimed at exploring the theme of food and austerity through the lens of one of the most high profile, yet under-evidenced, phenomena in the current era of austerity: the decision to ‘heat or eat’. There is increased policy discussion about households having to make stark choices between ‘heating and eating’ and the driver of this phenomena is perceived to be the relative flexibility of food and fuel costs compared to other household expenses. However, the evidence base that exists is largely made up of single household case studies and small scale surveys conducted by NGOs, and is rarely the central focus of the research in which it appears. Moreover, existing evidence pays little or no attention to spatial disparities within such debates, largely ignoring the very different, and often more challenging circumstances faced by the rural poor, including disparate and more stretched public services, a limited and energy inefficient housing stock, and restricted access to cheaper forms of fuel such as mains gas. With support from National Energy
Action and the Trussell Trust foodbank Network this project will scrutinise the ‘heat or eat’ dilemma in a rural context, investigating the legitimacy and complexity of such claims, and critically assessing existing and potential policy responses.
Energy innovation es8928 - renewable energy policy handbook -final m coviMarco Covi
A handbook for policy makers in the renewable energy field in Ontario. The handbook places a heavy importance on better consultation and public education on energy matters when it comes to the planning of large-scale energy projects and makes several suggestions on how to improve this. The handbook is timely as it was written in the context of the 2013 LTEP. In addition it serves as an accessible scientific reference guide for decision-makers and the broader public alike.
Kuching | Jan-15 | Off-grid Solution for Provisioning Energy AccessSmart Villages
The second in our series of workshops designed to gather input from stakeholders involved in existing off-grid projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This event is workshop scheduled to be held in Malaysia for the ASEAN countries will be organised by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
Discussion Paper on the European Commission’s Energy Union - A Union Based on...Leonardo ENERGY
Leonardo Energy welcomes the Commission’s Energy Union document. It sets out a positive perspective and structured view of how the EU’s energy policy should be developed and implemented in a coordinated manner over the coming decades. The vision of the document is laudable as are the diagnoses regarding the overarching necessity of strengthening energy policy coordination across the EU and of building up governance capacity. These are indeed important priorities if the EU is to succeed in meeting its policy goals set for 2020 to 2050.
However, the challenges to achieving the EU’s energy policy objectives should not be understated or glossed over – they are quite profound and will require sustained efforts on a hitherto unprecedented scale to be addressed. In the end it is the detail of how the headline measures set out in the Energy Union document are designed and implemented, which will determine whether the energy policy objectives will be met or not. It is important to build on existing Directives and policy initiatives rather than starting afresh; but this process requires honest appraisal of the successes and limitations of the current initiatives and more fundamentally of the plethora of barriers to the development of the low carbon energy economy. In particular, the temptation to avoid or ignore difficult challenges will need to be resisted in favour of sustained and determined measures. This requires a collective effort by European policymakers at all levels.
A Comparative Analysis of Renewable Energy Policies and its Impact on Economi...ssuser793b4e
Renewable energy has been identified as a critical component of
global efforts to address climate change, enhance energy security, and foster
sustainable economic growth. As a result, many countries have implemented
renewable energy policies to promote the development and deployment of
renewable energy technologies. However, the impact of these policies on
economic growth remains a subject of debate. This article provides a
comparative analysis of renewable energy policies and their impact on
economic growth. The study employs a systematic review of the literature and
utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods to compare renewable energy
policies and their economic impacts across different countries. The findings
suggest that the impact of renewable energy policies on economic growth
varies across countries and is influenced by factors such as policy design,
institutional context, and economic structure. This research article finally,
examined the challenges associated with implementing renewable energy
policies, analyzed the implications of the findings for policymakers and
further gave some potential solutions that will help the policymakers and
future researchers
External Costs: Socio-Environmental Damages due to Electricity and Transport
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For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ~
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ~
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ~
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ~
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110 ~
The Need and Necessity of an EU-wide Renewable Energy Target for 2030Leonardo ENERGY
Highlights:
* Analysis of the two most viable options for renewable energy target-setting.
* One option is a ‘decarbonisation-only’ EU target with voluntary national targets for renewable energy.
* Alternative is an EU-wide renewable energy target, broken down into binding national targets.
* Analysis shows that the latter option is most suitable in facilitating a European low-carbon economy.
* It could help to keep energy costs for industry and society at sustainable levels.
Barriers to Improved Energy Efficiency Measures in the UK Housing Sector: Sta...Dr Renuka Thakore
Investigating existing socio-political dimensions and capacity of current regulations in addition to capacity of institutional governance in addressing new challenges of energy efficiency in housing. The perception of responsible actors dealing with its challenges and opportunities were analysed to develop a conceptual engagement model having capacity to develop strategic capabilities for informed decision-making for effective governance of energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives in the English housing system.
See page 10 for Professor Jillian Anable's contribution on low carbon transport and air quality.
www.ukerc.ac.uk/news/ukerc-calls-for-urgent-action-on-uk-energy-during-this-parliament-.html
Copyright UKERC.
Before we kick-off a new line-up of insightful studies and conversations on energy this 2021, we take a snapshot of the previous working papers which were featured last year.
These studies were produced under the Access to Sustainable Energy Programme-Clean Energy Living Laboratories (ASEP-CELLs) project implemented by the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG), and funded by the European Union.
To receive updates on our latest events and publications, please subscribe to our mailing list through this link: http://bit.ly/ASEPCELLsMailingList
In this Energy Flash we give an overview of the package and discuss the challenges ahead and the many controversies surrounding the Clean Energy Package.
1. EU Green Paper
A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy
Response from The British Psychological Society
The British Psychological Society is the learned and professional body for psychologists in the
United Kingdom. It has a total membership of over 42,000 and is a registered charity. Under its
Royal Charter, the key objective of the Society is "to promote the advancement and diffusion of
the knowledge of psychology pure and applied and especially to promote the efficiency and
usefulness of members by setting up a high standard of professional education and knowledge".
The Society maintains the Register of Chartered Psychologists and has a code of conduct and
investigatory and disciplinary systems in place to consider complaints of professional misconduct
relating to its members. The Society is an examining body granting certificates and diplomas in
specialist areas of professional applied psychology.
This response has kindly been prepared by Professor David Uzzell (Director, Environmental
Psychology Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey) on behalf of the
Society’s Research Board.
1. It is widely accepted that technological developments alone will be insufficient to achieve the
necessary carbon reduction objectives identified by the IPCC. Behavioural change by
consumers as well as producers is essential if a sustainable energy policy for Europe is to be
formulated and achieved. Therefore, it is highly appropriate for the Society to comment on the
EU Green Paper A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy.
Significant and sustainable long-term changes in energy consumption will only be achieved at
the institutional, household and individual level through changes in understanding, attitudes
and behaviours in each of these domains. Psychological research can make a significant
contribution to policy makers’ understanding of the options and mechanisms available to them
to achieve the energy goals. Our views have partly been informed by the UK Sustainable
Development Commission’s submission to the DTI Energy Review, Meeting the challenge:
energy policy for the 21st Century, which we commend to the EU.
2. While it is understandable that there is an emphasis in the Green Paper on issues such as
security of supplies and enhanced competition as a means of securing policy objectives, we are
very concerned that so little attention is paid and so few policy options explored in respect of
controlling and reducing demand. Although in conclusion the document asserts that one of the
three main objectives is to curb energy demand in Europe, there is virtually no discussion of
this in the Green Paper. We feel that the emphasis on energy efficiency, while obviously
desirable, has to be part of a wider package of measures which convey to the public that
uncontrolled growth in energy consumption is not an option for the future. All the evidence
suggests that improvements in energy efficiency are usual accompanied by an increase in
2. demand, thereby nullifying any potential resource consumption and carbon emission reduction
gains.
3. While one of the objectives of the Green Paper is to put forward a strategy for sustainable
energy supplies across Europe, we regret that there is not an equally clear statement of a
strategy for energy consumption across Europe. This is a serious shortcoming and leaves the
document critically imbalanced. Furthermore, we regret that there is no a clear statement of the
EU’s understanding and goals for sustainability in the context of energy. While some
statements are made, the overwhelming emphasis in the document is on continued economic
growth, which is difficult to square with current informed formulations of a sustainable future
for the planet. For example, in Section 2.1(v) it states that ‘Energy policy therefore needs to
favour cost-effective options and be based on a thorough economic analysis of different policy
options and their impact on energy prices’.
4. A sustainable energy policy should give as much, if not more, priority to the carbon emission
implications of different policy options as to the economic costs and benefits. Cost should not
be the only evaluative criteria if carbon emission reductions are to be met. Likewise, energy
reduction and efficiency targets should be based on carbon emissions rather than energy
consumption per se, as different energy sources have different carbon consequences. This
would encourage more imaginative consideration being given to alternative energy sources
(e.g., community heating schemes and CHP, renewables, microgeneration).
5. The proposed Action Plan on Energy Efficiency is to be welcomed. While the conventional
mechanisms of incentives, regulations and education will be important, we encourage the EU
to look beyond these approaches to more innovatory, theoretically informed and empirically
justified approaches that psychology is now putting forward. These approaches represent more
subtle, socially-relevant and effective mechanisms to affect the way people organise
themselves and make decisions (implicitly or explicitly) about energy consumption (e.g.,
reduced choice, social marketing, and persuasion through social norms). The instruments
identified in Section 2.4(i) will not work in an energy landscape in which consumers neither
recognise the need for change nor have the capacity to change.
6. We believe that there is an inherent contradiction in the stated intention of continued growth
and sustainable practices. If this is not seen by the EU as contradictory, a clear statement needs
to be made as to how it can be achieved. This is especially relevant for the European consumer
who continues to be exhorted to save energy but at the same time continues to be encouraged
to consume more direct and indirect energy-demanding products and services.
7. We would like to see a more active engagement of the public with energy issues in all EU
nation states because the new energy landscape of the 21st
century will require fundamental
changes in lifestyles which will affect both direct and indirect energy consumption. Change
will only be successful if the public – in their many different forms, eg householders,
employers, employees, manufacturers – understand and take collective responsibility for their
energy consumption in the light of climate change issues and changes in the supply and
security of different energy sources. ‘Business as usual’ in terms of consumption and ‘Not in
My Back Yard’ in terms of future energy supplies are not sustainable responses. We accept
that choice leading to increased competition is in the best interests of the consumer, but as
Amartya Sen has recently written, we should be advocating the responsibility of choice as
much as choice itself.
3. 8. Consumers need better feedback concerning their energy consumption so that they are aware of
the implications of use. Encouragement should be given to governments and the energy
industries to install smart metering infrastructure. More comprehensive feedback, for example,
about high energy consumption products and services, and carbon emission levels from
different products, would lead to a more informed citizenry who are able to make
knowledgeable judgments about the economic and environmental implications of their energy
use. It is often the case with environmental problems that an individual who receives the
benefits of an environmentally damaging action may not be the one who is likely to suffer the
consequences and may be unaware of them. Equally, the time lapse between human actions
and their noticeable effect on environmental change is measured in years to decades, and may
involve generational time differences. Consequently, making energy consumers more aware of
the environmental implications of their energy consumption can only serve to create a more
informed and responsible European citizenry. The encouragement of decentralised and
microgeneration energy provision, apart from environmental, economic and security benefits,
would also serve to bring energy production closer to the consumer and thereby make the
implications of production/consumption issues more meaningful and foster more sustainable
behaviour.
9. Public education concerning the purchasing of energy efficient appliances and encouraging
more energy efficient behaviours is essential. However, this must be accompanied by a
programme of reducing energy demand otherwise the economic savings individuals make are
negated by an increased demand and a continued growth in carbon emissions.
10. As with energy consumption generally, the increased efficiency of vehicles has been negated
by the increase in kilometres driven, thereby offsetting any potential energy saving while at the
same time increasing carbon emissions. We believe that there is considerable scope for the EU
to introduce measures which will encourage changed behaviours with regard to mobility such
as public transport travel incentives and green travel plans for both the public and private
sectors. Reducing car vehicle kilometres travelled will not only have beneficial energy
consequences but will reduce congestion, improve health, reduce accidents and lead to higher
quality of life for all and therefore have significant sustainable development benefits. This is an
area where behaviour change strategies should play an equally important role as technological
developments. The EU is in a position through its legislative powers and through encouraging
good practice to create environments in which dependence upon the car is reduced and public
transport options are increased (eg through higher housing densities, better land-use planning).
We hope that these comments are useful to you. If you require any additional information, or have
any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Martin Conway (Professor)
Chair, Research Board
September 2006