Briefing
Using Member States' information on policies and measures to support policymaking: energy efficiency in buildings
Main findings
- Publicly available information on national policies and measures represents a valuable resource to undertake policy assessments and evaluations.
- None of the currently available resources captures all of the information necessary to perform full evaluations. In particular, there is a lack of quantitative information on policy effects (e.g. achieved emission savings) or on cost and benefits.
- However, combining the information on greenhouse gas-related policies and measures available from different resources can significantly reduce knowledge gaps on individual policies.
- This information on policies and measures can help to identify the logical steps of a policy intervention (i.e. an intervention logic). This in turn would support the evaluation of any given policy, as illustrated by a case study on the improvement of energy efficiency in public buildings in Estonia.
- The information on policies and measures also provides a comprehensive overview of policy mixes in specific countries or sectors, as illustrated by a case study showing the different types of policy instruments implemented by Member States for saving energy in buildings.
Combining public information on policies and measures is the most effective way to support policy evaluations
Evaluating the effects of existing policies can help decision-makers to make better and more informed decisions about future policies. This requires a systematic process for assessing policy design, implementation, outputs and impacts. Policymakers from different countries can also learn from each other by making information available on their country’s experiences of designing and implementing policies and measures in various sectors, and of assessing and monitoring their effects.
In the policy areas of climate change mitigation and energy, a number of resources or ‘databases’ on national policies and measures bring together some of this information to support the work of policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders. Notably, these include the EEA database on climate change mitigation policies and measures in Europe [1], which is based on the national information that Member States report in line with the EU’s requirements ([2], [3]).
A comparison of resources on policies and measures [4] shows that none is currently able to capture all of the information both available and relevant to policy evaluation. For example, the EEA’s database extensively covers greenhouse gas-emitting sectors, is easily accessible and includes both qualitative and quantitative information for each policy and measure. However, the information on the achieved (ex post) effects of all policies remains incomplete.
Therefore, combining publicly available information sources provides a more complete picture of national climate mitigation policies in various sectors across the EU, as well as more detailed information on each policy’s effectiveness, efficiency, relevance or coherence. The following practical case studies illustrate how these databases can support policy analysis.
Evaluating individual national policies
‘Evaluation can be defined as an evidence-based judgement of the extent to which an intervention has: been effective and efficient, been relevant given the needs and its objectives, been coherent both internally and with [other] interventions, and achieved [EU] added-value’ [5].
When evaluating a policy or ‘intervention’, an ‘intervention logic’ can be used to identify its main characteristics, particularly how the action was intended to achieve its objectives. A well-designed intervention logic helps to identify relevant questions that help to evaluate each policy or measure against several criteria (e.g. relevance, coherence, effectiveness or efficiency).
Case study: Energy efficiency improvement in public buildings in Estonia
Figure 1 Case study: energy efficiency improvements in Estonia’s public buildings and the related intervention logic

Note: EE, energy efficiency; GHG, greenhouse gas; PaM, policy and measure; RES, energy from renewable sources.
Source: [6]
Policy databases can effectively support external evaluations by providing useful information for defining an intervention logic for different policies or measures. For example, in a recent evaluation study of reported national information [6], the EEA selected a sample of the policies and measures in its database, aiming to be representative of countries, sectors, instrument types and targeted greenhouse gases. An intervention logic was defined for each selected policy, using the information available from databases on policies and measures as a starting point.
The information available from the EEA’s database was either used directly or referred to other relevant resources. Publicly available information was further complemented by national evaluations and other information suggested by national experts. Figure 1 presents an example of an intervention logic for a measure to improve energy efficiency in Estonian public buildings.
Assessing the combined effects of multiple policies
Policy databases provide useful overviews of the different climate policies at national and/or sector level, making it possible to benchmark or evaluate several instruments within one sector, objective or country, or even across countries. For example, policy mixes combine instrument types to achieve a single objective.
Databases of policies and measures can support such evaluations. For example, in a recent analysis [7] of policy mixes aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings, the EEA traced the development of policy mixes in six countries during the 2000-2020 period, based on information from these databases and complemented by a wider literature search. The analysis mapped policy goals, timeframes, instrument types developed and audience targeted.
The findings showed that Member States implemented a large number of policies and measures to save energy in buildings: regulations, economic incentives, taxes, information, education and voluntary agreements. These policies and measures also targeted different actors: building professionals, owners or tenants, energy suppliers, local or national authorities and financial institutions. Figures 2 and 3 show how policies and measures addressing energy efficiency in buildings in the Netherlands have evolved.
Policy mixes, if well designed, are generally more effective than single instrument types. Their overall effectiveness can be affected, positively or negatively, by interactions between instruments. The illustrated case study shows how evaluating a group of policies and measures can capture and assess the links between policies sharing an objective.
Case study: Evolution of the policies and measures addressing energy efficiency in buildings in the Netherlands
Figure 2 History of policies and measures to improve energy efficiency in buildings in the Netherlands

Figure 3 Energy consumption of household space heating, and evolution of policies and measures addressing energy efficiency in buildings in the Netherlands (based on ODYSSEE-MURE)

Source: [7]
References
[1] EEA, 2018, EEA database on climate change mitigation policies and measures in Europe, European Environment Agency (http://pam.apps.eea.europa.eu).
[2] EEA, 2018, Tracking climate policies in European Union countries, EEA briefing, European Environment Agency.
[3] EEA, 2018, National policies and measures on climate change mitigation in Europe in 2017, European Environment Agency.
[4] EEA/ETC, 2016, Benchmark of the EEA database on climate mitigation policies and measures, ETC/ACM Technical Paper 2016/8 (http://acm.eionet.europa.eu/reports/ETCACM_TP_2016_8_PaM_DB_benchmark).
[5] EEA, 2016, Environment and climate policy evaluation, EEA Report No 18/2016, European Environment Agency (https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/environment-and-climate-policy-evaluation).
[6] EEA/ETC, 2016, Contribution of the information reported under the MMR to the evaluation of national PaMs, ETC/ACM Technical Paper 2016/9 (http://acm.eionet.europa.eu/reports/docs/ETCACM_TP_2016_9_MMR_Info_Eval_Natl_PaMs.pdf).
[7] EEA/ETC, 2018, Ex post evaluation and policy implementation in the building sector, Eionet Report ETC/ACM 2018/2 (http://acm.eionet.europa.eu/reports/EIONET_Rep_ETCACM_2018_2_energy_efficiency_buildings).
Identifiers
Briefing no. 08/2018
Title: 'Using Member States' information on policies and measures to support policymaking: energy efficiency in buildings
PDF TH-AM-18-010-EN-N - ISBN 978-92-9213-977-3 - ISSN 2467-3196 - doi:10.2800/191046
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