The European Union needs to put energy efficiency and energy demand reduction at the heart of the transformation of the European energy system, say researchers at the Centre on Innovation and Energy Demand (CIED). In a book chapter published in a new, edited volume titled ‘Research Handbook on EU Energy Law and Policy‘, Dr Jan Rosenow and Dr Florian Kern argue that the current approach to energy efficiency innovation policy design is too narrow.
“Our research shows that when policy makers are designing policy they should adopt a wider approach that considers social changes happening alongside technological changes, rather than just focusing on bringing certain technologies to market.” says Dr Jan Rosenow.
The book chapter ‘EU energy innovation policy: the curious case of energy efficiency‘ discusses key policy developments in energy efficiency through a policy design framework currently employed by the European Union and suggests future areas of research in the area of energy efficiency innovation.
While the researchers welcome the increased focus on energy efficiency within EU energy policy, they argue that a clear innovation strategy is required in order to achieve the targets set by the EU. They explain that the innovation system is not a straightforward, linear process, but much more complicated and messy. Therefore, when policy makers are designing policy they should adopt a wider approach that considers social changes happening alongside technological changes, rather than just focusing on bringing certain technologies to market.
The Research Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the most important research and latest trends in EU energy law and policy.
Read more about our project on ‘Policy synergies and trade offs for low energy innovation‘.
