Building a database for energy sufficiency policies

Abstract

Sufficiency measures are potentially decisive for the decarbonisation of energy systems but rarely considered in energy policy and modelling. Just as efficiency and renewable energies, the diffusion of demand-side solutions to climate change also relies on policy-making. Our extensive literature review of European and national sufficiency policies fills a gap in existing databases. We present almost 300 policy instruments clustered into relevant categories and publish them as "Energy Sufficiency Policy Database". This paper provides a description of the data clustering, the set-up of the database and an analysis of the policy instruments. A key insight is that sufficiency policy includes much more than bans of products or information tools leaving the responsibility to individuals. It is a comprehensive instrument mix of all policy types, not only enabling sufficiency action, but also reducing currently existing barriers. A policy database can serve as a good starting point for policy recommendations and modelling, further research is needed on barriers and demand-reduction potentials of sufficiency policy instruments.

Energy sufficiency: Conceptual considerations, modeling, and scenarios for less energy consumption

“…Sufficiency as a general sustainability strategy is a well-known concept (Huber 1995;). However, despite being a frequent subject of debate in science and civil society, it is not well established in the political arena (Best 2022;. In contrast to efficiency and consistency, sufficiency aims for absolute reductions.…”

Wirkketten von Energie-Suffizienzpolitiken: Ein Vorschlag zur Visualisierung und Möglichkeiten der Integration in die Energiemodellierung

“…We plan to apply our concept to a range of energy sufficiency policies. We will start with those included in the recently developed "Energy Sufficiency Policy Database" (Best et al 2022). We are particularly interested in the comparison of the impact chains for different policy instruments (stimuli) that target the same outcome.…”

“…Once impact chains for the policies in the database of Best et al (2022) are developed, we plan to test their integration in existing models and add quantifications. The goal is to model them entirely endogenously.…”

Open energy system modelling to support the European Green Deal

“…Therefore, existing approaches need to be extended and new modelling approaches need to be developed so that the models can better represent real-world conditions and developments. This special collection on Energy Systems Modelling includes new modelling methods and datasets that address energy sufficiency policies ( Best et al , 2022 ) and peer-to-peer trading ( Perger and Auer, 2022 ) in modelling, as well as assess energy infrastructure needs ( Arduin et al, 2022 ).…”

“…It is rarely considered in energy modelling and is also underrepresented in energy and climate policy, unlike energy efficiency and renewable energy ( Zell-Ziegler et al , 2021 ). Best et al (2022) conducted an extensive literature review of European and national sufficiency policies to fill a gap in existing databases. The “Energy Sufficiency Policy Database” presents almost 300 policy instruments from seven sectors.…”