A spanner in the works? Are ambitious energy efficiency policy objectives frustrated by the standardisation processes or can ambitious technical standards accelerate progress?

摘要

International technical standards can be instrumental in creatingglobal markets for efficient energy technologies. Technicalstandards play an important and growing role in support ofenergy efficiency performance requirement and labelling programsfor appliances and equipment. The growth in the scopeof standards and labelling (S&L) programs globally, togetherwith calls for greater harmonization, has reduced the use oflocal test methods and increased reliance on international testmethods.Energy efficiency has typically not been a key considerationin the development of technical standards but over recentyears several government-led initiatives have attempted tomake standards more appropriate to their policy ambitions.The improvement of test methods and inclusion of energy performancetiers as informative guidelines within internationaltechnical standards are amongst these initiatives. While notmandatory, the latter have been seen as a means of limitingthe number of different performance requirements called upby government S&L programs, leading to reduced compliancecosts. There may also be benefits for developing countries thatdo not necessarily have the resources to develop their own performancerequirements. If sufficiently ambitious, performancetiers could also inform on successive updates of requirementsfor countries with established programs.However, some governments and experts query the wisdomof such approaches, which they say provide industrial lobbyistswith the opportunity to limit minimum energy performancerequirements at an un-ambitious level. Many governments arealso concerned about the lack of a formalised structure withininternational standardisation processes to take account of policyambitions. The slow pace of international standardisationsmay also be frustrating to national governments and potentiallyincompatible with local policy roadmaps.This paper will describe several recent successful, as well asunsuccessful, experiences with using international standards toadvance energy efficiency for products. It will also discuss thepros and cons of this approach and identify a range of potentialsolutions that will make it more likely for governments to realizetheir policy ambitions.