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Lessons from energy efficiency policy and programmesin the UK from 1973 to 2013

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Abstract

The UK is in the process of implementing the Green Deal, a finance-based energy efficiency policy. It is aimed, initially, at the domestic sector, but with plans to extend the scheme to the commercial and public sectors. The Green Deal represents a fundamental reorganisation of policy because it places a considerable reliance on the role of markets to deliver the required energy savings. After some initial Government funding, support programmes have been curtailed or removed completely and role of government restricted to capacity building, accreditation and compliance monitoring. Will the Green Deal succeed? This paper reviews the history of energy efficiency policy and programmes in the UK from 1973 to the present day, taking account of the political environment and of the wider context of energy and climate policy development. This information is then analysed to draw out what is generally considered to be effective policy, and applies this to the current policy landscape.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK

    Peter S. Mallaburn

  2. Environmental Change Institute and Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK

    Nick Eyre

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  1. Peter S. Mallaburn
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  2. Nick Eyre
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Correspondence to Peter S. Mallaburn.

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Mallaburn, P.S., Eyre, N. Lessons from energy efficiency policy and programmesin the UK from 1973 to 2013. Energy Efficiency 7, 23–41 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-013-9197-7

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