Energy sufficiency policy : how to limit energy consumption and per capita dwelling size in a decent way

Energy sufficiency has recently gained increasing attention as a way to limit and reduce total energy consumption of households and overall. This paper presents selected results of a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research that examined the potentials and barriers for energy sufficiency with a focus on electricity in households, how household members perceive sufficiency practices, and how policymakers could support and encourage these. Bottom-up calculations for an average 2-person household in Germany yielded a total electricity savings potential from energy efficiency and sufficiency combined of theoretically up to 75 %. The continuous growth of per capita living space was identified as one important driver for additional energy consumption both for heat and electricity. The paper will present findings of a representative survey of 600 persons responsible for the housework. It revealed that a part of the households is already practicing sufficiency options or are open towards these. Up to 30 % of these households can imagine, given the right conditions and policy support, to move to a smaller dwelling or to share an apartment with others when they are older. Results of a first comprehensive analysis of an energy sufficiency policy to encourage and support households to sufficiency practices form the second part of the paper, with a focus on the feasibility and potential effectiveness of instruments for limiting the growth in average living space per person. This includes a case study on fostering communal housing projects as a measure to reduce living space. Further, the feasibility of a cap scheme for the total electricity sales of a supplier to its customers was examined. Instruments supporting energy-efficient and sufficient purchase and use of equipment complete the integrated energy sufficiency and efficiency policy package. The paper will finally present the project's conclusions on an integrated energy sufficiency policy package resulting from this analysis

Energy sufficiency in private households enabled by adequate appliances

Energy efficiency of a range of domestic appliances covered by the labelling and ecodesign directives has improved significantly over the last 15 years. However, the power consumption of the German residential sector has remained relatively constant over this period. Besides other factors, such as decreasing average household size, the main reasons for this development were the increases of the types, features, size, equipment stock and usage times of appliances and devices in private households. The project "Energy Sufficiency - strategies and instruments for a technical, systemic and cultural transformation towards sustainable restriction of energy demand in the field of construction and everyday life" investigates how the complementation of energy efficiency with energy sufficiency could lead to more user adequate domestic products and product-service systems and thereby result in an absolute reduction of power consumption. In this project, energy sufficiency is defined as a strategy to reduce energy consumption by three approaches: 1. Quantitative reduction of sizes, features, usage times of devices etc. 2. Substitution of technical equipment in households by e.g.urban services. 3. Adjustment of technical services delivered by appliances toutility needed and desired by users. The energy saving effects of an application of these approaches were modelled for different types of households and the energy saving potentials of energy sufficiency quantified. Innovative approaches for user adequate products and services were developed in open innovation workshops by the Design Thinking method. The paper summarizes some of the intermediate results of theoretical and transdisciplinary investigations of the project that runs until May 31, 2016. Furthermore, a first set of design criteria for user adequate appliances enabling energy sufficiency are developed based on these results. The paper concludes with suggestions for the future development of energy labelling and ecodesign derived from the design criteria and supplemented by examples of existing requirements according to the voluntary environmental label "Blauer Engel"

Energy sufficiency : how can research better help and inform policy-making?

The concept of sufficiency - reducing energy uses beyond technical efficiency - is far-reaching and requires a reflection on human needs, energy services, urban structures, social norms, and the role of policies to support the shift towards lower-energy societies. In recent years, a growing body of literature has been published on energy sufficiency in various disciplines. However, there has been limited exchanges and cooperation among researchers so far, hindering the visibility and impact of this research. This paper presents an assessment of where sufficiency research stands, especially in the perspective of policy-making. It is the first overview paper issued in the context of the newly-founded ENOUGH network - International network for sufficiency research & policy, established in 2017. In the first part, we provide a condensed literature review on energy sufficiency, based on dozens of recent references collected through the network. Through four main themes (the nature of sufficiency, the challenges of modelling it, the barriers to its diffusion, and the approaches to foster it), we summarise the key issues and approaches. We then present what the scholars themselves see as the priorities for future research, promising sufficiency policy options, and key barriers that research should help overcome. We collected their views through a questionnaire completed by more than 40 knowledgeable authors and experts from various disciplines. We finally build on the previous parts to draw some recommendations on how sufficiency research could increase its impact, notably in relation to policy-making

Fläche unter Druck: Sozial-ökologische Dimensionen der Flächennutzung in deutschen Wachstumsregionen

Deutsche Städte werden immer dichter bebaut ‐ zum Nachteil von vielen Stadtbewohner(inne)n. Damit eine hohe Lebensqualität gewährt werden kann, muss Stadtentwicklung öffentliche Räume stärken. Denn gemeinschaftlich genutzte Flächen wie Parks oder Plätze können wesentliche Bedürfnisse nach sozialem Austausch oder Naturerfahrungen befriedigen und die Städte so lebenswerter machen.The paper discusses the trend of ongoing land consumption in German cities and their implications for socially inclusive and ecological urban development models. Highlighting how land use in Germany has changed since 1990, we focus on housing and mobility ‐ the two sectors that have had the most impact on land consumption nationwide. Our analysis of ten demographically growing cities in Germany shows land consumption to be driven not only by demo-graphic growth itself, but also by modes of living and transportation that are exclusive to certain privileged groups. In the cities we studied, these developments would seem to benefit the few, but affect the lives of everyone. Based on these results, we sketch out various ideas and approaches that could support a socially inclusive and ecological urban development policy. Supporting a cultural shift from a private luxury model to one based on public welfare is crucial to reducing land consumption and ensuring that all members of the population can gain access to “the good life”.</jats:p

Freiheit zum Weniger - wie EU-Politik nachhaltiges Leben und Wirtschaften ermöglichen kann

Viele Menschen würden gerne beim Einkaufen auf übermäßige Verpackungen verzichten, ihr Handy reparieren lassen, anstatt ein Neues zu kaufen, oder mit nur einem Ticket mit Bus und Bahn quer durch Europa fahren. Das ist leichter gesagt als getan, wenn die Rahmenbedingungen nicht stimmen: Das Obst und Gemüse im Supermarkt ist eben verpackt, das Handy so gebaut, dass es kaum repariert werden kann und für die öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel braucht man für jede Strecke ein eigenes Ticket. Für viele dieser alltagsrelevanten Hindernisse könnte die EU mit intelligenten Regeln gute Lösungen finden, um es ihren Bürgerinnen und Bürgern einfacher zu machen, ein Leben mit weniger Ressourcenverbrauch zu führen - oft geht dies sogar mit mehr Komfort, Freiheit und Sicherheit einher. Viele EU-Bürger*innen würden gerne zu mehr Klima- und Umweltschutz beitragen. Doch momentan wird der persönliche Handlungsspielraum oftmals durch Strukturen und fehlende Angebote begrenzt. Dabei gibt es eine Reihe von Maßnahmen und Regulierungen, mit denen die EU ihren Bürgerinnen und Bürgern die Freiheit zu einem ressourcenschonenden und meist auch schöneren, entspannteren und bequemeren Leben geben kann. Zu diesen Veränderungen gehören unabdingbar auch die richtigen Rahmenbedingungen für eine nachhaltige Ökonomie. Diese sind jedoch nicht Gegenstand dieses Papiers. Hier geht es vielmehr um Beispiele für die vielen alltagsrelevanten Verbesserungen, durch die die EU ihren Bürgerinnen und Bürgern die "Freiheit zu Weniger" eröffnen kann. In diesem Papier werden hierzu 7 konkrete Politikvorschläge vorgestellt, die allen Bürgerinnen und Bürgern Möglichkeiten dafür eröffnen und zeigen: - Umweltfreundliches, ressourcenleichtes Leben bedeutet oft ein mehr an Komfort, Freiheit und Sicherheit. - Nachhaltige Lebensstile sind keine alleinige Frage von individuellem Handeln. Politik kann und soll durch Suffizienzpolitik ressourcenleichte Lebensstile zum bequemen Standard machen. - Die EU kann in diesem Sinne ganz alltagspraktisch ein nachhaltigeres Leben der EUBürgerinnen und EU-Bürgern in vielen Bereichen erleichtern

Energy sufficiency : how can research better help and inform policy-making?

The concept of sufficiency - reducing energy uses beyond technical efficiency - is far-reaching and requires a reflection on human needs, energy services, urban structures, social norms, and the role of policies to support the shift towards lower-energy societies. In recent years, a growing body of literature has been published on energy sufficiency in various disciplines. However, there has been limited exchanges and cooperation among researchers so far, hindering the visibility and impact of this research. This paper presents an assessment of where sufficiency research stands, especially in the perspective of policy-making. It is the first overview paper issued in the context of the newly-founded ENOUGH network - International network for sufficiency research & policy, established in 2017. In the first part, we provide a condensed literature review on energy sufficiency, based on dozens of recent references collected through the network. Through four main themes (the nature of sufficiency, the challenges of modelling it, the barriers to its diffusion, and the approaches to foster it), we summarise the key issues and approaches. We then present what the scholars themselves see as the priorities for future research, promising sufficiency policy options, and key barriers that research should help overcome. We collected their views through a questionnaire completed by more than 40 knowledgeable authors and experts from various disciplines. We finally build on the previous parts to draw some recommendations on how sufficiency research could increase its impact, notably in relation to policy-making

Energy sufficiency policy for residential electricity use and per-capita dwelling size

Energy sufficiency has recently gained increasing attention as a way to limit and reduce total energy consumption of households and overall. This paper presents both the partly new methods and the results of a comprehensive analysis of a micro- and meso-level energy sufficiency policy package to make electricity use in the home more sufficient and reduce at least the growth in per-capita dwelling size. The objective is to find out how policy can support households and their members, as individuals or as caregivers, but also manufacturers and local authorities in practicing energy sufficiency. This analysis needed an adapted and partly new set of methods we developed. Energy sufficiency does not only face barriers like energy efficiency, but also potential restrictions for certain household members or characteristics, and sometimes, preconditions have to be met to make more energy-sufficient routines and practices possible. All of this was analysed in detail to derive recommendations for which policy instruments need to be combined to an effective policy package for energy sufficiency. Energy efficiency and energy sufficiency should not be seen as opposed to each other but work in the same direction - saving energy. Therefore, some energy sufficiency policy instruments may be the same as for energy efficiency, such as energy pricing policies. Some may simply adapt technology-specific energy efficiency policy instruments. Examples include progressive appliance efficiency standards, standards based on absolute consumption, or providing energy advice. However, sufficiency may also require new policy approaches. They may range from promotion of completely different services for food and clothes cleaning, to instruments for limiting average dwelling floor area per person, or to a cap-and-trade system for the total electricity sales of a supplier to its customers, instead of an energy efficiency obligation

Weiterentwicklung der Energieeffizienzpolitiken zur Erreichung der Klimaschutzziele der Europäischen Union bis 2050 : Abschlussbericht

Vor dem Hintergrund der europäischen Klimaschutzziele bis 2050 und der damit erforderlichen Dekarbonisierung der Wirtschaft werden in dem Vorhaben die Weiterentwicklungsoptionen der europäischen Energieeffizienzpolitiken untersucht. Es werden die Sektoren private Haushalte, Verkehr und Industrie betrachtet sowie der förderliche Rahmen, d. h. auch sektorübergreifende Instrumente. In den vorgeschlagenen Politikpaketen soll sich die Vielfalt der Instrumententypen abbilden. Neben Best-Practice-Beispielen liegen Länderstudien für drei große Volkswirtschaften der EU vor (Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien) und mit Polen auch eine Länderstudie für einen Mitgliedstaat aus dem mittelosteuropäischen Raum

Akzeptanz von Energiesuffizienzpraktiken im Haushalt : Auswertung einer quantitativen Befragung ; im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts "Energiesuffizienz - Strategien und Instrumente für eine technische, systemische und kulturelle Transformation zur nachhaltigen Begrenzung des Energiebedarfs im Konsumfeld Bauen/Wohnen"

Im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts "Energiesuffizienz - Strategien und Instrumente für eine technische, systemische und kulturelle Transformation zur nachhaltigen Begrenzung des Energiebedarfs im Konsumfeld Bauen/Wohnen" wurden vielfältige denkbare Suffizienzentscheidungen und -handlungen beobachtet, analysiert, beschrieben und systematisiert. Doch welche dieser Entscheidungen und Handlungen werden bereits heute breit praktiziert, welche werden möglicherweise zukünftig akzeptiert und welche Rahmenbedingungen müssen sich dazu ändern? Eine zentrale Forschungsfrage des Projektes war es zu untersuchen, welche Akzeptanz und Akzeptabilität für bestimmte Suffizienzentscheidungen und –handlungen in der deutschen Bevölkerung besteht. Wie offen sind Menschen für das Teilen von Waschmaschinen oder für einen Umzug in eine kleinere Wohnung, wenn die eigene Wohnung durch Veränderungen der Personenzahl des Haushalts zu groß geworden ist? Wie schätzen Menschen, die eine sehr große Wohnfläche haben, diese selbst ein? Suffizienzentscheidungen und -handlungen müssen in der Regel von der haushaltsführenden Person initiiert und getragen werden und können direkt oder indirekt zu einem höheren Arbeitsaufwand führen. Deshalb sind insbesondere die Akzeptabilität der Optionen für die Haushaltsvorstände sowie deren Akzeptanz und die Einstellung dieser Personengruppe zu Suffizienzentscheidungen und -handlungen von besonderer Relevanz. Um die Beantwortung der o. g. Forschungsfrage quantitativ zu untermauern, wurde deshalb eine Breitenbefragung konzipiert und durchgeführt, in der 601 haushaltsführende Personen als zentrale Akteure suffizienzrelevanter Entscheidungen im Haushalt interviewt wurden