Efficiency of energy conservation programmes in European countries

A study in behalf of the Enqu te Commission of the German Parliament "Protection of the Global Atmosphere" done in 1989was aimed at collecting all available knowledge on possibilities for reducing emissions which cause climate risks, an suggesting efficient strategies to protect the atmosphere. One part of the study aimed at finding out how effective energy conservation programmes in other European countries have been in the past, and how successful measures can be applied to the German situation in order to improve demand-oriented energy policy in the future. First, some methodological remarks and general results of the experiences in the European countries under study - Denmark, France, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland - are presented. Then three successful programmes are discussed in more detail: a bundle of three measures for private households, namely energy consulting, subsidies for energy-saving investments and a regulation on presenting an energy certificate when selling a house, in Denmark; an education and training programme for architects and craftsmen in the building sector in Switzerland, and a free national service for testing boilers in small and medium sized companies and communities in Ireland. The conclusion for the German energy policy include support for energy consulting, education and training, overall motivation to give energy conservation a high ranking in people's decision-making, and group-specific information by well-accepted communication channels.