Behaviour Change for Energy Efficiency Scoping Workshop: Opportunities for International Cooperation in the G20 and beyond

hao.wu@ipeec.org

Background

Energy users’ behaviour is a key factor influencing the way they respond to energy efficiency policies and whether they choose (or not) to adopt energy efficient technologies and services. Therefore, incorporating an understanding of energy users’ behaviour into the design of policies, business models and technologies is crucial for realising energy efficiency goals. Recognising this, behaviour change surfaced as an important subject to boost the impact of energy efficiency policies at the last G20 Energy Ministers’ meeting held on 15 June 2018 in Bariloche (see Communique here). At the meeting, G20 Energy Ministers agreed to launch new work on this topic under the G20 Energy Efficiency Leading Programme.

To take this commitment forward, this one-day scoping workshop will bring together IPEEC, IEA and G20 economies – as well as other IOs, research organisations, and advocacy bodies working in this field - to share hands-on experiences and discuss the opportunities for international collaboration on how behavioural sciences can be applied to energy efficiency policies to enhance their effectiveness. Countries will then be encouraged to come identify concrete steps to translate this G20 political agreement into concrete actions.

Objectives

• Introduce behaviour change for energy efficiency, covering: i) how behaviour change theory can be used to strengthen traditional energy efficiency policies such as standards and labelling schemes, and ii) new policy interventions to encourage energy efficient behaviour.
• Explore the particular opportunities and challenges faced in encouraging behaviour change across sectors and in different country contexts; and
• Identify possible topics for future collaboration as well as potential mechanisms and resources for collaboration, including the Task Groups under the G20 Energy Efficiency Leading Programme.

A recap of the workshop...

The morning session of the workshop focused on the introduction of behaviour change in the field of energy efficiency, featuring speeches and presentations from participating  countries, including Argentina, Japan, Ireland and Saudi Arabia, international organisations including the IEA, as well as private companies such as Opower, and Advizzo. They touched upon various behavioural issues including loss aversion, social norming, and hyperbolic discounting, for instance. Examples of programmes presented included Cool Biz in Japan, home energy reporting in Ireland and Japan, mobility apps in the US, and community campaigns in Saudi Arabia.

The afternoon breakout sessions were led by expert moderators and covered the buildings/ appliances, industry and transport sectors. Each breakout session invited countries to present their hands-on sectoral experiences (UK, Me , Argentina), and were followed by group discussions on the opportunities for international collaboration on how behavioural sciences can be applied to energy efficiency policies to enhance their effectiveness. The transport and buildings sessions discussed the notion of enticing users to purchase efficient products, use products efficiently, and choose efficient consumption modes. The industry session explored multiple ways to promote energy networks and improve energy management systems.

Click here for the agenda.

Click here for a background note for this workshop.

Click here for the outcome report.

 

Introductory Presentation

What is behaviour change in the field of energy efficiency and why is it important?
By Mr Masaomi Koyama, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan

Behaviour and Energy Efficiency: Systems tell people how to act - people tell systems how to change
By Prof. David Shipworth, UCL Energy Institute and Vice-Chair IEA Demand Side Management Technology Collaboration Programme

Country and private sector experiences

Behavioural Insights & Climate Change Countermeasures
By Mr Yoshihiro Mizutani, Director at Ministry of Environment, Japan, and Mr Ken Haig, Director of Market Development & Regulatory Affairs, Oracle Utilities, Japan

Continuous innovation in Behavioural Programs
By Mr Sean Layerle, Chief Product Officer, Advizzo  

Applying Behavioural Science at SEAI: What We’ve Learnt so Far…
By Mr Karl Purcell, Behavioural Insights Unit, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Ireland

Behaviour Change and Transportation Research
By Mr Andrew Duvall, Transportation Behaviour Analyst, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), United States

Saudi Energy Efficiency Program
By Mr Fareed Al Asaly, Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Buildings

Behavioural Insights in Residential Energy Efficiency – The French Experience
By Prof. Stephane Labranche, Sciences Po Grenoble, France

Country presentation: Behavioural Insights in Residential Energy Efficiency – The UK Experience
By Mr Gervase Poulden, Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS), UK

Industry Session 

Country presentation: Behaviour Change for Energy Efficiency in the Industry in Me , PRONASGEn
By Mr Nelson Mojarro, Representative of the Hydrocarbons Fund to Europe and Ms Stephanie Ruíz López, National Commission for Efficient Energy Use (CONUEE), Me

Transport Session

Transportation workshop introduction
By Dr Reuven Sussman, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), United States

Country presentation: Argentina's eco-driving programmes
By Ms Maria Eugenia Bartolomei, MEN, Argentina