RESUMO
Decades of techno-economic energy policymaking and research have meant evidence from the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)-including critical reflections on what changing a society's relation to energy (efficiency) even means-have been underutilised. In particular, (i) the SSH have too often been sidelined and/or narrowly pigeonholed by policymakers, funders, and other decision-makers when driving research agendas, and (ii) the setting of SSH-focused research agendas has not historically embedded inclusive and deliberative processes. The aim of this paper is to address these gaps through the production of a research agenda outlining future SSH research priorities for energy efficiency. A Horizon Scanning exercise was run, which sought to identify 100 priority SSH questions for energy efficiency research. This exercise included 152 researchers with prior SSH expertise on energy efficiency, who together spanned 62 (sub-)disciplines of SSH, 23 countries, and a full range of career stages. The resultant questions were inductively clustered into seven themes as follows: (1) Citizenship, engagement and knowledge exchange in relation to energy efficiency; (2) Energy efficiency in relation to equity, justice, poverty and vulnerability; (3) Energy efficiency in relation to everyday life and practices of energy consumption and production; (4) Framing, defining and measuring energy efficiency; (5) Governance, policy and political issues around energy efficiency; (6) Roles of economic systems, supply chains and financial mechanisms in improving energy efficiency; and (7) The interactions, unintended consequences and rebound effects of energy efficiency interventions. Given the consistent centrality of energy efficiency in policy programmes, this paper highlights that well-developed SSH approaches are ready to be mobilised to contribute to the development, and/or to understand the implications, of energy efficiency measures and governance solutions. Implicitly, it also emphasises the heterogeneity of SSH policy evidence that can be produced. The agenda will be of use for both (1) those new to the energy-SSH field (including policyworkers), for learnings on the capabilities and capacities of energy-SSH, and (2) established energy-SSH researchers, for insights on the collectively held futures of energy-SSH research.
RESUMO
Energy efficiency is a popular policy strategy to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The concept of energy efficiency is relatively simple - to use less energy for the same level of output. However, complexities emerge when applying efficiency concepts to real world processes and practices of energy consumption: subjective judgments when defining, measuring and applying energy efficiency principles, how efficiency is conceptualized and applied in policy, and how policy is designed and implemented, given social and environmental tradeoffs. This article traces the evolution of EU energy efficiency policy over seven decades to better understand underlying values and tradeoffs from a sociological perspective. Using insights from critical policy studies, the article reveals how certain values are reflected in how energy efficiency is defined and measured over time. It highlights how the conceptualization of energy efficiency has been used as an effective rhetorical device - and how some potentially relevant concepts and issues get sidelined in favor of others. The analysis illustrates how narrow conceptualizations of energy efficiency has put blinders on wider environmental and social issues. This points to the need for a more nuanced policy approach that takes into account the complexities and uncertainties of societal and policy challenges. The findings point to the need for energy efficiency policy that pays closer attention to citizens' views and collective solutions in order to formulate more effective policy to reduce energy consumption.
