Policy mixes for sustainable energy transitions

Abstract

Any new policy goals pertaining to sustainable energy transitions and associated policy instruments to help foster such change will not exist in a vacuum. Rather, they will become embedded in pre-existing policy contexts with legacies of goals and instruments already in place. It is this messy reality that ultimately influences policy outcomes and it is therefore increasingly important to explicitly study ‘real-world’ policy mixes. This chapter draws on the emerging literature on policy mixes for energy transitions and points out that there has been limited attention specifically to energy efficiency policy mixes. The aim of this chapter is to summarise some of the empirical research on energy efficiency policy mixes conducted as part of CIED in order to draw out overall academic insights and avenues for further research. We also provide policy reflections on design principles for policy mixes for sustainable energy transitions in which energy efficiency plays a key role.