The role of policy instruments to promote the development and diffusion of energy efficient technologies has been repeatedly accentuated in the context of climate change and sustainable development. To better understand the impact of policy instruments and to provide insights into technology...

The UK residential (household) sector is responsible for approximately 30% of total carbon dioxide emissions and is often seen as the most promising in terms of early reductions. As most direct household emissions come from only two fuel sources, this paper critically examines how existing...

Increasing energy efficiency in residential dwellings remains one of the top climate protection priorities in many European countries. In Germany regulatory instruments and subsidy programs, together with communicative instruments, represent the most important measures for motivating homeowners...

The greenhouse gas mitigation potential of different economic sectors in three world regions are estimated using a bottom-up approach. These estimates provide updates of the numbers reported in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR4). This study...

The building sector accounts for about 40% of the final energy consumption in Germany. At the same time, the sector is regarded as one of the most cost-effective options for saving CO2 emissions. To target this potential, the European Union introduced energy performance certificates (EPC). EPCs...

Renewables require support policies to deliver the European 20% target. We discuss the requirements for least-cost development and efficient operation and quantify how different schemes (i) allow for the development of a renewable energy technology portfolio; (ii) reduce rent transfers to...

Average market prices for intermittent generation technologies are lower than for conventional generation. This has a technical reason but can be exaggerated in the presence of market power. When there is much wind smaller amounts of conventional generation technologies are required, and prices...

Photovoltaic (PV) technologies have demonstrated significant price reductions, but large-scale global application of PV requires further technology improvements and cost reductions along the value chain. We survey policies in Germany and China and the industrial actors they can encourage to...