Research project NM/B/01 (Research action NM)
CONTEXT
The goal of improving the energy-efficiency in all sectors of society became one of the central pillars of international (the Rio and Kyoto conferences) and national (national CO2-plan) climate change policy. Because of the importance of energy use in everyday life for all sectors in industrialised economies, increasing the overall energy-efficiency might play a significant role in any policy which aims to meet the objectives of the national CO2-plans. Next to this important potential to reduce energy use, we need to realise that total energy consumption in Belgium is still increasing. It seems to be a real challenge to change structural evolutions in a limited time period.
Economists distinguish a number of instruments to improve energy efficiency or to reduce energy use. Next to command-and-control regulation with technical standards and regulation, there is the growing category of market-based instruments with charges, tradable emission permits and combinations of these instruments. In another category, voluntary agreements and informational instruments like ecolabels are placed. There is a generally accepted consensus that technical standards are less efficient than market-based instruments. But next to the criterion of technical efficiency, we need to consider other aspects like the possibility to implement the instrument, the integration of the instrument into the existing regulatory framework, the possible impact on international competition and market distortion by the instrument,…
In this research project, we want to analyse the strong points of each instrument and the preconditions for the optimal integration of the instruments in the existing institutional context. In this context, the central policy goal is the further realisation of the common European internal market.
Recent analysis shows that instruments like charges (e.g. the proposal for an EU CO2-tax) and tradable permit systems are very hard to implement at the European level, although their theoretical advantages are not discussed. As a result, technical regulation is an instrument with a greater potential than often acknowledged.
THE PROJECT
The central research task of the proposal touch upon several questions which have been raised when a policy to increase energy-efficiency through technical regulations has been designed. Three central research questions have been identified as:
1. the role of energy-efficiency as a tool in a policy which promotes sustainable development;
2. the effectiveness of technical regulations compared to other policy instruments;
3. using a case-study approach, we analyse the way the market might react when energy-efficient technical regulations are implemented. The case-studies will focus on several issues, e.g. (international) competitiveness, technical regulations and market access and the way technical regulations might contribute to a ‘no regrets’ policy.
THE PARTNERS
The research work is co-ordinated by staff members of the Centre for Environmental Economics and Environmental Management of the Department of General Economics (Ghent University).
EXPECTED PRODUCTS AND RESULTS
The final report will contain a detailed analysis of each research task in the project. A new methodology has been developed to study the historical contribution of energy-efficiency improvements in the total reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This methodology has already been used in an article published in Energy Policy (Albrecht, J., François, D. and Schoors, K. (2002). A Shapley decomposition of carbon emissions without residuals, Energy Policy (Elsevier Science Ltd), Vol.30(9), 727-736).
SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATIONS
Research activities are integrated in existing international research networks in which the Centre for Environmental Economics and Environmental Management is participating (e.g. the network CATEP).
USERS COMMITTEE
- J. Pieters (OECD, Paris)
- (RIVM, the Netherlands)
PROMOTER
Marc DE CLERCQ
Universiteit Gent
Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfskunde
Hoveniersberg 24
B-9000 GENT
Tel: +32 9 264.34.78
Fax: +32 9 264.35.99
E-mail: Marc.Declercq@rug.ac.be
Energy-efficiency through technical standards: an European approach to reduce market fragmentation and efficiency-barriers : final report
Brussels : Federal Science Policy, 2005 (SP1486)
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