New reports for your spring reading

There are a few new reports that are well worth spending time reading.   The first is a comparison of German and UK experience in evaluating energy efficiency programmes.  The second concerns climate policy and industry, policy interaction and the external environment.  The third is on developing roadmaps for a retrofit strategy.

Evaluating the evaluations: Evidence from energy efficiency programmes in Germany and the UK

by Jan Rosenow and Ray Galvin

This paper investigates and compares evaluations of two prominent energy efficiency programmes in the UK and Germany – the German CO2-Building Rehabilitation Programme and the UK’s Supplier Obligation. The authors show that evaluations in of the Supplier Obligation explicitly address most of the reduction effects whereas this is not the case for the CO2-Building Rehabilitation Programme.  This is the first critical analysis of evaluations of most prominent retrofit programmes in Germany and Britain.

The report shows that most evaluations of home retrofit energy efficiency programmes depend on calculated, rather than measured, levels of energy consumption. This fails to take into account the discrepancies that have been observed in practice, between calculated and actual energy consumption both before and after refurbishment. Evaluations of energy efficiency programmes ideally need to consider rebound effects, free rider effects, reduced savings due to insufficient technical quality, and discrepancies between actual and calculated pre-refurbishment energy consumption.  While providing a good analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluations undertaken, the report provides suggestions for improving evaluations.  As Europe is moving more and more towards binding targets or measures, it is essential that evaluations improve.  These authors take the first step.

This is a report well worth reading and will get the readers in the right frame of mind before the June eceee Summer Study.

The report is available from Jan Rosenow’s website.

Industry, Policy Interaction and External Environment

by Elin Lerum Boasson, CICERO Center for Environmental and Climate Research, Norway and Jørgen Wettestad, Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway

Climate policy is today a significant area of EU governance, providing important framework conditions for many industries. But how has EU climate policy developed?

This book offers structured, comparative case studies of the development of four central climate policies: emissions trading systems, renewables, carbon capture and storage, and energy policy for buildings, examining the intriguing similarities and differences in how these have taken shape.

Combining sociological New Institutionalism and political science theories in a novel and engaging way, Elin Lerum Boasson and Jørgen Wettestad explore and explain the history of EU climate policy. What emerges are fascinating stories – of skilled entrepreneurs who have managed to create and exploit political windows of opportunity, and of more long-term path-dependent developments.

Drawing on more than 60 interviewees, the authors present accounts never told before, providing a valuable and timely contribution to our knowledge of environmental management and EU integration. This book is a must-read for all those seeking to understand the driving forces in EU climate policy and recognize its prospects for the future.

Information on the public is available at the Ashgate website.

Renovation Roadmaps for Buildings, a report for Eurima, the European Insulation Manufacturers Association

by the Policy Partners (Frank Klinckenberg, Mia Forbes Pirie and Laure McAndrew)

This report is intended as a practical tool and information source for roadmap developers. It includes practical guidance on how building renovation roadmaps can be developed effectively and which elements they should include in order for them to deliver their full potential. A pull-out table is provided at Annex 1, setting out examples of existing policies which may be useful in supporting essential elements of an effective buildings renovation roadmap.

While member states are to develop renovation roadmaps, it is essential that all stakeholders have a better understanding of what roadmaps can do and should do.  They are more than a bureaucratic exercise.  They are fundamental if Europe is to take ambitious building renovations seriously.

The report is available from the Eurima website.