Plugged-in, switched-off

Energy conservation saves non-renewable resources and is good for the environment; it may also save money, improve competitiveness and create jobs. It would seem to be a perfect instrument of sustainable development, which emphasises environment, economy and social inclusion. But, as Gill Owen contends, it is not taken seriously enough.

Unfortunately for its advocates, energy conservation can also be rather dull. Libraries are replete with volumes about its technical and economic potential, and exhortations to ensure that these are realised. Instead of simply lamenting past failures, though she certainly documents these, Owen focuses on the politics of energy supply and conservation. She examines the role of governments, other institutions and policy communities in Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan, as well as the actions of the European Union.

At the outset, she makes an important distinction between energy efficiency - getting more out of each unit of energy - and energy conservation, which means using less. Since the early 1970s, the western world has greatly improved efficiency but it is using more energy now than it did then. Increasing standards of comfort, more and bigger appliances and a voracious appetite for transport mean greater efficiency does not necessarily lead to reduced consumption.

It has always been a frustration to advocates of energy conservation that energy-saving measures are not taken up even when payback periods are short. Owen provides a good summary of the now well-documented barriers to improved efficiency. As she observes, however, some of the obstacles may not be "barriers" in the sense of market failure, but a rational response to low, and falling energy prices. For many consumers, the "hassle factor" of researching options, finding contractors, ensuring competent installation and sorting out anything that goes wrong is simply not worth the trouble. The irony is that low prices are an intended result of energy-market liberalisation, a policy vigorously pursued in the UK and now being emulated with enthusiasm elsewhere. Raising prices through taxation is unpopular with businesses, voters and the poverty lobby. Owen argues that liberalisation can also shake up policy networks and encourage new approaches, such as the marketing of improved efficiency alongside units of gas and electricity. To date, however, "energy services" constitute only a tiny fraction of the market.

The six country studies illustrate how resources, politics and institutions have shaped approaches to energy conservation. In the UK, for example, where supply interests have dominated, outside initiatives have been necessary to persuade governments to act. In contrast, in Denmark, where efficient district heating systems will soon supply 60 per cent of space heating demand, small utilities have been controlled by municipalities and supply interests have never captured a predominant position.

The threat of climate change provides a new imperative to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. Alternative energy sources, even renewables, have substantial environmental problems of their own. Energy efficiency must be part of the answer but, as Owen points out, environmental protection demands energy conservation. The experiences in this book do not give grounds for optimism that this can be achieved.

It might have been better to restrict the analysis to the UK, Denmark and Japan, as in the PhD thesis from which the book originates. It is difficult to achieve much more than a broad-brush account in the short chapters on each country. Overall, however, the book provides an interesting and accessible analysis of a complex issue.

Susan Owens is lecturer in geography, University of Cambridge.