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2.3 Energy saving per sector
The average energy saving differs significantly by sector figure 6. Since 1995, the agriculture and horticulture sector has achieved the
highest saving: 2.6 on average per annum. The transport sector achieved the lowest: 0.1 per annum. The rate of savings since 2000 has
increased only in the agriculture and horticulture sector. In the households sector it remained stable and in the other sectors it declined.
In the transport sector there has even been a dissaving, i.e. energy efficiency has declined.
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Figure 6 Average annual energy saving per sector
Measured over two periods: 1995-2007 and 2000-2007
The agriculture and horticulture sector accounts for only a small proportion of national energy consumption. The high saving rate therefore
has less impact on total energy consumption than, for example, the lower rate in the transport sector. Expressed in absolute volume of energy PJ,
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The cause of this negative outcome is unknown. There might be a real dissaving, for exampl e through higher energy consumption per kilometre travelled, a larger proportion of less economical
cars, lower occupancy rate per car or increased congestion. But it might also be due to discrepancies caused by inaccurate data because the 0.3 margin of u ncertainty is greater than
the saving rate in this sector.
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most energy has been saved in the manufacturing and households sectors, see figure 7. The manufacturing sector is considered in detail in
chapter 5.
Figure 7 Energy saving by sector
Total consumption in 2007 and the saving in 1995-2007
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3 Use of policy instruments
We noted in chapter 2 that the national energy saving targets applicable until the end of 2010 had not been achieved. We investigated whether the
cause lay in the policy conducted. We commenced by looking at the latest policy programmes, the Climate Policy Implementation Memorandum
VROM, 1999, the Energy Saving Action Plan based on it EZ, 1999 and the Clean and Efficient working programme VROM, 2007. We
determined whether it was known when the policy programmes were prepared whether the instruments would be adequate to achieve the
goals ex ante evaluations, whether the proposed instruments were actually applied and what information was available on the impact of the
policy executed ex post evaluations. Our audit found that successive governments had known in advance that
their ambitions were not backed up by appropriate policy instruments. Time and again, studies carried out for the responsible ministers found
that the policy would not achieve the goals. These signals were not used to adapt policy or reconsider the goals. A number of key policy
instruments, moreover, were applied much later than foreseen or in a much diluted form, if at all. We consider these findings in the following
sections.
3.1 Policy instruments
A wide and diverse palette of policy instruments was applied to achieve the energy saving goal. The Dutch government has opted for a specific
combination of instruments tailored to the individual characteristics of each sector. They are summarised below with a brief description of th eir
assumed effect. Statutory obligations and binding standards
Energy savings can be imposed by means of statutory obligations and minimum energy efficiency requirements on, for example, electrical
appliances and houses. Adequate enforcement is a key condition.
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