Reflections--Energy Efficiency Literature for Those in the Policy Process

It is important for policy makers to understand the extent to which the purported benefits of energy efficiency are real, and how they can be achieved. This "reflections" aims to help the policy community understand how the literature can assist them in assessing the opportunities, challenges, and choices they face as they consider how to develop and implement an energy efficiency policy agenda. The article examines what is meant by energy efficiency, how energy performance is generally evaluated, and why energy efficiency is generally presented as such a great opportunity. This is followed by discussions of the importance of understanding market failures and addressing the external benefits of energy efficiency, and the importance of understanding prices and price expectations. The article concludes with some guidelines for designing coherent and effective energy efficiency policies. Because the article is aimed particularly at assisting policymakers, much of the discussion, especially the lessons for policy, are directed to "you," the reader as policymaker. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.