Energy efficiency policy governance in a multi-level administration structure — evidence from Germany

The German government has proclaimed energy efficiency to be the ‘first imperative’ for the transformation of the energy system (‘Energiewende’). It has enacted numerous policy measures at federal, federal state and local level which combined should deliver the aspired energy savings. Our contribution reviews the German governance system (multi-level policy coordination and policy feedback through monitoring and verification of energy savings), including the full set of German Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs). We find that many of the SEAPs put emphasis on CO₂ reduction but neglect a systematic monitoring and verification (M&V) of energy efficiency. A harmonised M&V scheme covering the relevant energy aggregates and energy savings can facilitate policy feedback. Designing the M&V system to the principle of cost-effectiveness can help to save costs and keep information provision and administrative burden in balance. Regarding policy coordination, the German case shows that strong formal coordination structures are a necessary condition for effective policy design, but not a sufficient one. They need to be backed up by informal coordination such as feedback loops or sharing of best practices to add a dynamic dimension.