Policy packaging or policy patching? The development of complex energy efficiency policy mixes

TLDR

Energy policy aims to cut carbon emissions, secure supply, and keep energy affordable, and recent EU initiatives have introduced many instruments to boost sectoral energy efficiency. This study broadens prior work by examining the overall mix of policies designed to reduce energy consumption. The authors mapped policy goals and instruments, conducted documentary analysis and stakeholder interviews to trace the evolution of building‑energy efficiency policy mixes in Finland and the UK from 2000 to 2014. Both Finland and the UK now have complex, goal‑diverse policy mixes that use many instrument types, yet their evolutionary paths differ despite shared EU influence.

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.