This paper provides an empirical analysis of market behaviour under 'Tradable White Certificate' (TWC) schemes. It focuses on the entire set of 'flexibilities' granted to obliged parties to meet a mandatory energy-saving target cost-effectively, i.e. range eligible measures, eligible end-use sectors, banking provision, market engagement of non-obliged parties, and trading as such. We found that market behaviour responds to the unique design and context in which TWC schemes are implemented. Contrary to expectations, limited trading is observed so the 'to-trade-or-not-to-trade' dilemma is further analysed. A real TWC market has emerged only in Italy, where obliged parties (i.e. energy distributors) show preference towards 'to-trade'. In Great Britain and France, an autarky compliance approach is identified, with obliged parties (i.e. energy suppliers) showing preference towards 'not-to-trade' driven by, among many factors, commercial benefits of non-trading (e.g. increased competitiveness). At the same time, resultsshow clearer indications of cost-effectiveness for Great Britain than for Italy. In general, high energy-saving effectiveness is observed, but low ambitious saving targets and pitfalls in the regulatory framework need to be considered to further develop TWC markets. Initial market and institutional conditions strongly suggest that trading might not be an immediate outcome. Ambitious energy targets can trigger a more dynamic usage of all flexibilities by eligible parties and thus active behaviour in TWC markets.

Decades of techno-economic energy policymaking and research have meant evidence from the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)—including critical reflections on what changing a society’s relation to energy (efficiency) even means—have been underutilised. In particular, (i) the SSH have too often been sidelined and/or narrowly pigeonholed by policymakers, funders, and other decision-makers when driving research agendas, and (ii) the setting of SSH-focused research agendas has not historically embedded inclusive and deliberative processes. The aim of this paper is to address these gaps through the production of a research agenda outlining future SSH research priorities for energy efficiency. A Horizon Scanning exercise was run, which sought to identify 100 priority SSH questions for energy efficiency research. This exercise included 152 researchers with prior SSH expertise on energy efficiency, who together spanned 62 (sub-)disciplines of SSH, 23 countries, and a full range of career stages. The resultant questions were inductively clustered into seven themes as follows: (1) Citizenship, engagement and knowledge exchange in relation to energy efficiency; (2) Energy efficiency in relation to equity, justice, poverty and vulnerability; (3) Energy efficiency in relation to everyday life and practices of energy consumption and production; (4) Framing, defining and measuring energy efficiency; (5) Governance, policy and political issues around energy efficiency; (6) Roles of economic systems, supply chains and financial mechanisms in improving energy efficiency; and (7) The interactions, unintended consequences and rebound effects of energy efficiency interventions. Given the consistent centrality of energy efficiency in policy programmes, this paper highlights that well-developed SSH approaches are ready to be mobilised to contribute to the development, and/or to understand the implications, of energy efficiency measures and governance solutions. Implicitly, it also emphasises the heterogeneity of SSH policy evidence that can be produced. The agenda will be of use for both (1) those new to the energy-SSH field (including policyworkers), for learnings on the capabilities and capacities of energy-SSH, and (2) established energy-SSH researchers, for insights on the collectively held futures of energy-SSH research.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract