“White and Green”: Comparison of market-based instruments to promote energy efficiency

The “White and Green” Project completed under the EU SAVE Programme reviewed policies and measures to promote energy efficiency, which involved analysing the experience with instruments that are already implemented, and assessing innovative instruments that are proposed. In particular, the practicability of using “White Certificates” (energy efficiency) along the same lines as “Green Certificates” (renewable energy) was explored. Several of the policies and measures were simulated using technical–economic models of the MARKAL family. The results show that by 2020 it is possible to increase energy efficiency by 15% at no cost without taking externalities into account. If externalities are considered, an increase of 30–35% with respect to the business-as-usual scenario is justified. The wealth of information obtained through the models and analysis provides a set of recommendations for policy-makers, including: (1) the need for closer co-ordination between energy policies and environmental and climate policies; (2) the opportunity to establish more ambitious targets for energy efficiency; (3) the scope for increased EU co-ordination; (4) the extension of White Certificates to the medium and low energy-intensive industries; (5) the need to support White Certificates with accompanying actions, such as running information campaigns, promoting energy service companies, and providing dedicated credit lines; (6) the need to develop similar instruments for transport and (7) the continuing need for energy research and development.