A new toolkit from the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) provides Member States with a menu of options for establishing energy efficiency obligations (EEO). At least 17 Member States either have in place or are establishing an EEO as part of their implementation of Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).

“EEOs can operate very differently from one Member State to the next. It is precisely this ability to adapt to local circumstances that gives the EEOs their strength,” explains Eoin Lees, senior advisor to RAP and coauthor of the toolkit. “To reap the full benefits of EEOs, certain features are essential, including setting clear objectives, effective design, and a robust compliance regime.”

Toolkit for Energy Efficiency Obligations draws on best practices in Europe and around the world to provide policymakers with a step-by-step guide to the key decision points for designing an effective EEO. The toolkit emphasizes approaches that are most likely to secure compliance with EED requirements to only count additional energy savings from policies above those that would have otherwise happened or that are already required by law.

EEOs are one of the most effective policies to stimulate investment in energy efficiency, and global experience shows that the obligations are nearly always met.

The toolkit is the part of a series of training materials to assist Member States in designing and implementing EEOs. Presentations from RAP’s November 2015 EEO implementation workshop for the Baltic States, hosted by the Latvian Ministry of Economics, are available here.