[EEA12] The role of Energy Efficiency First in climate policy: A complement, not a contradiction

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Date & Time

September 4, 2024 ; 10h00 - 11h00 CEST

Speakers

• Barbara Schlomann, Fraunhofer ISI
• Wolfgang Eichhammer, Fraunhofer ISI / Utrecht University / IEECP

Description

Policies to combat climate change involve transformative measures that both support and challenge the Energy Efficiency First (EE1) Principle. On one hand, the adoption of energy-efficient industrial processes, buildings, appliances, and electric vehicles is fundamentally aligned with the EE1 Principle. On the other hand, efforts to decarbonize industrial processes, transition transport fuels for aircraft, shipping, and heavy trucks to hydrogen and Power-to-X (PtX), and implement IT solutions for flexibility in sector coupling and energy communities may significantly increase energy demand.

This presentation examines these contradictions and explores potential solutions to address them.

Recording

Highlights

• Technical energy savings more than compensated for the additional consumption due to increased activities from 2000 to 2022.
• However, this alone is not sufficient to achieve climate neutrality. Behavioural and other sufficiency measures are also needed to reduce energy demand.
• Introducing the Energy Efficiency First (EE1) Principle into various transformations of the energy system (both supply and demand) is an important task for this decade, but it is not sufficient on its own.
• There are climate policies that both support and contradict the EE1 Principle.
• Such climate policies may be necessary for sectors that are hard to decarbonize.
• However, this requires a broader framework for EE1 and the integration of a hierarchical principle, generalizing the Energy Efficiency First Principle into the governance of climate policies.
• Hierarchical approach ordered by priority and impact:
  1. Energy Efficiency First Principle to minimize demand, along with sufficiency options.
  2. Priority for decarbonization of the electricity sector.
  3. Giving preference to alternatives based on renewable energy sources that provide similar services with lower environmental impact.
  4. Use of hydrogen, synthetic products, or CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) only after the first three stages have been appropriately exhausted.
• The ODYSSEE-MURE project can contribute to the analysis of hierarchical principles through its databases and tools.
• Sufficiency-related energy savings will need to be a key policy target to fully leverage this broader EE1 framework.

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