Comparative assessment of policies targeting energy use efficiency in Lithuania

Energy efficiency is an important issue of European climate policy. Energy efficiency is measured by the energy intensity of an economy showing how much energy (expressed in kilograms of oil equivalent, kgoe) is used for the production of one unit (1000 EUR) of GDP. There are huge differences between EU old and new member states. Though there are some trends of energy intensity convergence between EU member states however the achieved decrease in energy intensity is attributable mostly to a loss of energy-intensive industrial capacities in the transformation process. There is a crucial difference between whether the energy intensity of a given economy decreases as a result of downscaling energy-intensive activities or because of increased energy efficiency in activities that are maintained. It is important to make sure that this distinction is made within the policy framework which at present is not the case. The aim of the paper is to assess policies targeting energy intensity decrease in Lithuania in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy and to select the best policies able to increase energy efficiency in activities that are maintained.