From Andrew Warren, Director of the Association for the Conservation of Energy, writing an article entitled The UK must look to Berlin to improve energy efficiency for businessgreen.com:
. . .for many years, German governments of all political hues have run long-term, consistent and purposeful energy efficiency programmes, designed to minimise new supply requirements. An acknowledgment of their effectiveness came from UK Climate Change Minister Greg Barker, returning from an Anglo-German energy efficiency intergovernmental in Berlin.
Having sought to explain the forthcoming Green Deal, he remarked ruefully: “It feels a little like selling snow to the Eskimos.”
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 