Advocacy Coalitions and Paths to Policy Change for Promoting Energy Efficiency in European Industry

Fredrik von Malmborg () and Peter A. Strachan
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Fredrik von Malmborg: Division of Political Science, Department of Management & Engineering, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Peter A. Strachan: Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7QE, UK

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: This paper applied the advocacy coalition framework to explore and explain the political processes creating policies to enhance energy efficiency of European Union (EU) industry. The paper used legislation on energy audits and energy management systems as a proxy for EU policy on energy efficiency in industry. Based on qualitative text analysis of EU policy documents, including a proposal to recast the energy efficiency directive, amendments to the proposal suggested by Member States, the Council and the European Parliament, and reports from negotiations, the paper identified four advocacy coalitions with different core beliefs, spanning from those that want few companies to implement energy audits or energy management systems, and that recommendations from audits should not be mandatory to implement, to those that advocate that many companies implement energy audits and management systems and that it should be mandatory to implement measures recommended in audits. It was further found that policy change followed an external shock, deliberative negotiations, and policy-oriented learning. The identification of core beliefs and advocacy coalitions will help policymakers and other stakeholders become more aware of their own and others’ values on energy efficiency and how these could be changed. As important was the differentiation of deep core beliefs, policy core beliefs and secondary beliefs. Which beliefs can be easily changed, which cannot?

Keywords: advocacy coalition framework; energy audits; energy efficiency; energy management systems; industry; process tracing; policy change; policy process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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