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An Agenda for Energy and Material Efficiency Policy – An Element of Technology Policy for a More Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

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  • Eberhard Jochem

    (Center for Energy Policy and Economics CEPE, Department of Management, Technology and Economics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

Abstract

Discussions about the future options of the energy systems of industrialised countries are held almost exclusively in terms of alternative resources of energy supply and related technologies. This paper tries to broaden the view of the technological options by focusing on the technical and theoretical potentials of a more efficient use of energy and materials. Such options are generally overlooked since a more efficient use of energy resources tends to be assessed by its economic potential. This analysis starts from the basic human needs of an industrialised country which lead to the material and energy services that influence energy-related drivers. The analysis of the energy system's losses, from useful energy to final and primary energy and the analysis of a more efficient use of materials hint at huge technical and theoretical potentials for more efficient use of energy. This new agenda of the technology-based research of resource efficiency is labelled as the vision of the 2000 Watt per capita society. It may not only influence energy and material research and policy agendas, but also transform the present rather narrow-minded understanding of energy policy into a resource efficiency concept as part of an innovation policy oriented towards sustainable development. From this perspective, suggestions are made to extend the R&D energy and material policy agendas.

Suggested Citation

  • Eberhard Jochem, 2005. "An Agenda for Energy and Material Efficiency Policy – An Element of Technology Policy for a More Sustainable Use of Natural Resources," CEPE Working paper series 05-40, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
    • Handle: RePEc:cee:wpcepe:05-40
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Silvia Banfi & Massimo Filippini & Andrea Horehájová, 2012. "Using a choice experiment to estimate the benefits of a reduction of externalities in urban areas with special focus on electrosmog," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 387-397, January.
    3. Reinhard Madlener & Carlos Henggeler Antunes & Luis C. Dias, 2006. "Multi-Criteria versus Data Envelopment Analysis for Assessing the Performance of Biogas Plants," CEPE Working paper series 06-49, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
    4. Reinhard Madlener & Stefan Vögtli, 2006. "Diffusion of bioenergy in urban areas: socio-economic analysis of the planned Swiss wood-fired cogeneration plant in Basel," CEPE Working paper series 06-53, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
    5. Silvia Banfi & Massimo Filippini & Andrea Horehájová, 2007. "Hedonic Price Functions for Zurich and Lugano with Special Focus on Electrosmog," CEPE Working paper series 07-57, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation policy; energy efficiency policy; material efficiency; R&D energy policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation

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