Towards NAPE 2.0: Study on the development of the energy efficiency policy’s instrument mix

As part of “Energiewende”, the German federal government has set ambitious goals in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the share of German primary energy produced from renewable sources. One of the key pathways to achieving these goals is an increase in energy efficiency. In order to promote it, the National Plan for Energy Efficiency (NAPE) was elaborated in 2014 by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy including various energy policy instruments such as information campaigns, financial incentives and legal framework conditions. Two years since their initial introduction, the impacts of the current mix of instruments can now be assessed. The latest projections suggest a substantial gap between the targeted and achieved improvements in energy efficiency will emerge up to and beyond 2020.

This called for a consideration of further development of mid- and long-term energy efficiency policies that constituted the so-called NAPE 2.0, which focused on closing the energy efficiency gap. The first step was the preparation of an energy efficiency green book, in which particularly the instruments not made use of in the existing NAPE were to be examined. These should act to amplify, complement and advance the existing ones. A sound and fact-based proposition for the additional instrument mix was to be developed, which further had to be compatible with the existing one and conform to the EU legislation. Another key assessment criterion was the cost efficiency of the instruments. Specifically to be investigated were the possibilities to influence the demand and supply of energy-related commodities, either through trading schemes such as white certificates, or directly through regulatory measures. Also to be examined were the instruments capable of incentivising energy savings and other kinds of climate-friendly behaviour through exerting influence on energy commodity prices in either direct or indirect manner. The alignment of instruments with the strived-for impacts, their acceptance among the target groups, and their liability to triggering rebound effects was to be considered as well.

As a think tank well acquainted with the landscape of German energy policies and trends, adelphi coordinated the review of the existing and potential complementary instruments as well as the review of proposed instruments, and their compliance with European energy policies and regulations. The project consortium was comprised of Ecofys, dena, BBH, Fraunhofer ISI, IFEU, Frontier Economics, Prognos and PwC. The contracting authority was the Department IIB1 of the BMWi (energy efficiency policy and rational energy use).