Innovative energy-efficiency policies: an international review

摘要

Policies to improve end-use energy efficiency have invoked great interest over thernpast several decades because the reduction of energy waste is often the fastest,rncheapest, and cleanest energy resource. Most energy-efficiency (EE) programsrnand policies to date have been implemented in industrialized nations. Thisrnarticle reviews some of the more innovative efforts, and also describes thernEE policies being launched in today’s emerging economies, emphasizing thernwide range of energy markets, resources, and infrastructures. The focus is onrninformation, financing, and regulatory policies that target efficiency improvementsrnin the buildings and industrial sectors. The review summarizes the array ofrnmarket failures and barriers, examines theory-based policy design principles, andrnuses metrics such as levelized costs and policy supply curve to evaluate policyrnoptions. One conclusion from this international review is that policies need to bernperiodically updated to track technology advances and evolvingmarket conditions.rnIn addition, policymakers need to develop a comprehensive compliance regime,rnsince noncompliance issues not only result in a failure to meet policy goals, butrnalso can produce a loss of confidence in the reliability of EE programs. Thisrnarticle describes many creative and innovative ways that policy regimes are beingrndesigned, implemented, and enforced, such that failures of the past can be avoidedrnand successes can be replicated and expanded.